Tuesday, January 12, 2016

How the Osprey Does Lunch -- 10 Bird Images

Shortly Before Noon

 

 

It was one of rare days, in January, when the sun shined and weather warmed up.

Comfortable in flip-flops, I stuffed a pair of socks in my pocket, just in case.

Having celebrated the New Year for several nights in a row, I needed some exercise.

It had been months, since I walked around the Kin Dam and, I decided the time was right.


bird, osprey, Pandion haliaetus, fishing

 Standing on a dirt bank, above the dam, I saw the bird circling overhead.

Then, it took a steep dive towards the water, directly in front of me.



osprey, diving for fish, Kin Dam, talons extended

The bird was staring at the water, with it's talons itching, to grab something.

Sometimes, they go home empty handed so, it can be a hit or miss operation.

osprey, bird, half submerged in water

 Ospreys have an extra eyelid, they can use as goggles, to see underwater.

But, this one, didn't seem to want to get its hair wet and, kept its head out of the water.

Maybe, it was a girl.  They worry about their appearance, in the people world, anyway. 



osprey, bird, leaving fresh water, wings raised

 It's times like this, you never know what's gonna happen.

Auto focus, I'm cussing at it, while shooting at 8 frames plus, per second.

If that bird, doesn't come up with a fish, I just wasted a gigabyte of my SD card.



bird, osprey, leaving fresh water, wings forward




Birds aren't the only critters, that get hungry around lunchtime; I'm starving by now.


OK.  Osprey, show us what you got !



osprey, fish in one talon

 Now, I can see the bird has something hanging down from one talon.

Stuck at 420MM, I'm wishing I had of brought the big zoom lens, at this point.

The bird and fish, keep getting smaller and smaller the further away from me they went.


osprey, bird, fish, victory lap

Hang tight.  The osprey, likes to do a victory lap and, show-off the catch.

It circles the area, while adjusting the fish so, it's facing forward.

It makes life easier for the bird, to get the fish in an aerodynamic position. 


osprey, fish, squawking, flight

Then, the bird squawks loudly, announcing to the rest of the world.

Osprey speak:  "I caught a fish everybody, ha, ha, ha.  How are you doing today?"

That's what makes me think, it might have been a guy osprey.  Girls, don't brag like that.


osprey, caught fish,bank of dam, flying


 The bird and fish, quickly buzz across to the other side of the dam.

And, I'm thinking, "It's time for me to get outta here, to go buy some lunch for myself."



osprey, fish, blue sky, flight

Well, I should of known better.  The osprey wasn't done showing, his catch, yet.

After, disappearing out of sight, he turned around and circled the dam again.

 "Look here, y'all non-fishing ospreys.  I got me something for lunch!"

Ospreys are some of the coolest birds in the world, I only wish I could speak their language.

"Dude catch me a fish and, I'll buy you a beer," that's what I'd say !


Previous Osprey Entries

4 comments:

Kim said...

I appreciate the dialogue as much as the photos.

Unknown said...

You should make a gif of one these next time !

yours truly,
Lunch

RyukyuMike said...

Omega,

Maybe, you should get a Google+ profile, too !

RyukyuMike said...

KIm,
Thanks. Have you ever visited the Kin Dam? Nice ride, all the way around !