The Amazing Osprey

I'm surprised I haven't assembled a blog entry featuring the amazing osprey till now.  I have marvelled at them for as long as I can remember and taken many pictures of them as my journeys are typically near water. (click on the pics to see them larger)

On this particular foray into the wild I went back to the little lake I discovered in the previous blog entry.  But, this time I brought my kayak.  Though it is just a small lake there are several osprey nests.  The birds are on the nest in the springtime so I kept my distance using a 550 mm lens.

Ospreys are masters of the air and sky. They float and hover and dive like the skilled hunter they are. 

Almost effortlessly.

They find a good nest tree and use it every year.  Mating for life ospreys form a tight family unit.  Some trees have been used every year for up to 45 years. 

I waited to watch the male and female switch sitting position on the nest and then I left to give them some space.  It's nesting season so I didn't stay long.

Below is another nest tree on the other side of the lake.  It's a huge and spreading cypress.

the female sits on the nest.  She is the one with the spotted necklace.

While  the  male takes up a perch to hunt and stand watch.  He doesn't have the spotted necklace but he sits on the nest also to give the female a break.

The osprey is such a cool bird, so skilled, so adept, so beautiful.  The osprey can be found in temperate climates around the globe.  I think the reason for the wide range is that they are superior hunters.  Often when I see them they are carrying a fish.   Good luck to these two families with their hatch.  I will go back in a month or so to see the young  starting to fly.