dawn / sky aglow / metallic /
osprey / eyes glinting / feathers dancing /
sun furnace / bird hovers /
both entities / pulsing /
alive
Osprey Dawn Hunting
osprey
TagMeasurements
Jordan Lake. We can look at this photo in two ways. We can see that the female 3-year-old bald eagle has a wing length of ~7ft. The female osprey has a wing length of ~ 5ft. The fish, well, has a fin length of ~ 4 ins. Or we can look at the fact that the bald eagle weighs ~ 12#, the osprey weighs ~ 6#, the fish that the eagle wants to steal weighs about a pound… the osprey is carrying ~ a quarter of its own weight.
Osprey Moment
Jordan Lake. This lovely female osprey certainly made a dramatic moment of herself, her fish and all of the river water that she was leaving behind.
Osprey!
Jordan Lake. The ospreys have returned. The sky has suddenly filled with their chirps and fishing dives. This female appears to have a full crop and the remains of a fish meal on her lower abdomen. Welcome back Ospreys!
White Dots …
Jordan Lake. A field ID mark on a fledgling osprey is all of the white points at the end of its feathers. They are quite distinct. I have also noticed some of this on fledgling bald eagles, and fledgling hawks. Not near as definitive but it is there. I keep asking the experts do they know why. So look at the neck and head ruff on the eagle and osprey and on the wings and see what you think.
Top of the Morning!
Jordan Lake. You could say this pair of photos were literally “top” of my morning. Yes, the fledgling osprey is looking straight down the tree trunk at me and three other birders who were watching her. I leaned carefully back and pointed my camera straight up at her hoping she wouldn’t bolt! Don’t miss the fish she’s holding!
doc ellen's journey 