Bird Watching: "On the Waterfront" - Part 5

Linth those are all wonderful shots!!

Excellent shots Linth! Looks like the female is giving you a "for shame" look in the second shot (mating). :-)

OK now. Perth to Maryland....hmmm, about 24 hours. See you Friday, Linth. Fantastic shots and with the one of the Heron, you've still managed face detail.

Nice shots Linth!! and Pelle your right that last shot, she does look like she's giving an " uhum! excuse you" look. lol

Charlie... Is that a ball cap on the nest??? (mating photo)

LOL, It does look like one.

Linth I've been seeing lots of Opsreys setting up shop (3 nests) at Merkle. They (rangers) moved one nest further out into the water; the one I photographed last year. There's a nest also just off Critical Area Drive (CAD) (viewable from the bridge) and one just to the right of the boardwalk off the CAD. I've found a spot in the woods for close viewing and photos without public disturbance for the nest viewable from the bridge; it's also a cover so the birds won't be disturbed. Also I hike the woods a little further and saw 3 of the Ospreys fishing. This might be one of there main spots for fishing. I know one of the spots I will be at on Sundays.

Oh I saw a Bald Eagle hovering over my area the other day and that I have never seen before.

Keep the photos coming

Linth, you never cease to amaze me with your photos. They're so beautiful and clear. I love the heron photo. What a great greeting card that would make.

We checked one of our nesting sites and just found one osprey sitting there. Hopefully the mate was off getting food or more nesting materials. I'm so worried about all the nests that are here because of the high gusty winds. You wouldn't want to share some of your warm sun with us, would you?

Gorgeous photos, hope to see more soon.

Thank you all ...... they should be more discreet in their intimate behavior. Right there in broad daylight. What's a photographer to do ?

VA_Wild_Rose, it looks to me like it could be a a sun visor with the advertisement, 'Follow the Leader'. I think I mentioned before that this site is right adjacent to a soccer, lacrosse field. Baseball fields are also all around the complex. I tried to crop it a little tighter but can't reach anything conclusive.

Met, I haven't been to Merkle lately. I did visit Patuxent once recently but nothing worthwhile. The potholes in the roadway were terrible. I thought that they were supposed to get some tax dollars to make some repairs, but ......

Some Osprey are real sensitive to human presence. One place I go she sees me before I see her and she leaves the nest and won't come back until I get far enough away. With this pair, they could care less about what's going on around them. I hate to say that I get tired of taking photos of them but, in reality, how many different poses can one get. A lot of times when I'm there, I'm just practicing my skill on "moving" subjects. Of course, you need eyes in the back of your head because they can come back to the nest from any direction.

duc, I'd be glad to share some of the "heat". However, storms are supposed to move in tonight and temperatures will plummet to a perfect 70 degrees and sunny, for the weekend.

Trying to photograph a fast moving 'Killdeer' can be challenging but that is one of the benefits in having a fast-focusing lens. I can lock in on it farther away and as it passes by me, I still can have it in focus. But practice helps a lot.

One more 'Killdeer' photo .......

What is this thing you call "Fast Focusing Lens"? ;-)


Nice captures! Love it when you can see those big eyes of theirs.

Mrs. Ed, it is ...... AF-S Nikkor 500mm f/4D IF-ED II lens. Nikon has since come out with one that has vibration reduction. Mine does not have the image stabilzation feature. However, I, for the most part, only ever use it on a tripod. This is what Nikon says about the technology that drives the auto-focus.

"The Nikon Silent Wave Motor (SWM) uses ultrasonic traveling waves, converted to rotational energy, to focus AF-S NIKKOR lenses. The ultrasonic waves, moving in a spiral pattern inside the lens barrel, drive the cylindrical motor that moves the lens elements. This powerful and responsive high-torque motor system provides instant startup, high-speed autofocusing and incredible accuracy. Conventional autofocus lenses are driven by a motor in the camera linked to the lens by a gear system. Using inaudible ultrasonic frequencies—in effect, ultrasonic vibrations—rather than a gear system results in incredibly smooth, silent and precise AF operation".

Here's a male 'Eastern Towee", stationary subject, with the same lens, that I took on Monday.

A pair of Tree Swallows that are nesting in a Bluebird house, on the waterfront.

Great pics linth, love the Tree Swallows!

Excellent shot of the Killdeer, Towhee and Swallows Linth!

ooooo, "ultrasonic traveling waves" LOL.

Well they do say that Nikon makes the fastest lenses. It would be interesting to use one. These last two are beautiful too. Nice going.

Mrs_Ed, in by-gone days, we referred to it as, "faster than a speeding bullet". Canon and a few others have similar technology. Anyway, in comparison to my Sigma 50-500mm lens, the auto-focus is like night and day.

Time for a few more Osprey photos. Still bringing in an occasional new stick .....

The male Osprey says, "I'd better duck" !!!

Off for a little fishing .......

Coming in for a landing ......

"Where's the fish" ?

Lift off ............

Spread your wings .........

Watching a ballgame on an adjacent field .......

Just getting a little exercise .........

"I've got my eyes on you."

"It's about time. It looks like you decided to eat by yourself !"

Wonderful shots Linth!!!
They are such gorgeous raptors and have an impressive wingspan!

Wonderful shots, Linth. Have you seen any of the males actually feeding the females on the nest?

Nice Osprey shots Linth!! Really like the ballgame shot, both birds look very sharp!

Linth that next to last shot "got my eyes on you" is really nice. I think they are watching you just as much as you are watching them. Which lens are you using to get such shots?

I'm with Met, that "eyes on you" shot is just breathtaking. Your EXIF information won't come up on my computer for some reason.

Love all the photos!!

Thanks, everyone, again.

Margaret, I haven't seen the male feeding the female probably because she is not sitting on eggs, yet. I have seen it in the past but in most cases the male just drops off a fish and then departs.

Met, when the situation allows the use of a tripod, I always use the Nikkor 500mm lens. That's what I used here.

duc, my software has a trim feature in addition to the crop feature. For whatever reason, I usually use the trim feature which wipes out the EXIF data. If I use the crop feature, it is retained. For these photos, I used Manual settings, i.e. shutter speed - 1/1250 sec.; aperture - f/8; ISO - 400. I might bump up the shutter speed slightly the next time.

These are the last Osprey photos that I will post for awhile unless I find some "fishing" action.

Coming in for a short visit .......

A fly-by shot as he nears the nest .........

Just circling around getting some exercise ........

Bringing home some fresh fish ........

I think I cloned in the blue sky on this one ???

Another "arrival at the nest" shot .........