"On the Waterfront" - Vol. #8

Here is one taking off from a perch

Here is one flying away from a perch

I have others but this is one perched

Nice ones ej!

Thanks pellatory Ive been waiting for years for these type of opportunities of photographing Bald Eagles at their nest site. I have four nest that I can follow and at least two for sure have eggs. I'll have more photos in the future. Iam going out tommorrow to check out two of the nest. Febuary 26,2011

ejw, nice photos. Hopefully, your success has continued.

Yesterday, I stopped by one of my favorite Osprey sites to see if they have returned. Much to my surprise, they were both at the nest. I was there 2 days earlier and saw nothing. Normally the male arrives first so I was surprised to see both of them. They have been good parents for several years. It makes me wonder where they have been for the last six months. It's a good location for flight photos but not for nest shots. They are quite at ease with people since their nest is at the 50 yard line, high up in the lighting, so they have reserved seating for any games.

This is the male.

And, here is the female with an early lunch. I was getting ready to leave, having stood there for 45 minutes and no activity. When I first got there, he made 3-4 trips to the nest with small tree branches. He then left and didn't return for quite a while. When he did return he had brought her a fish (with the head missing).

This is a close-up of him bringing in the fish. She basically sat at the nest the entire time that I was there.

This message was edited Mar 18, 2011 5:17 PM

ha. that IS a closeup

Yes, it is, Mrs. Ed.

It is difficult trying to cover 360 degrees by yourself. When you're looking one way and before you expect it, he's coming in from behind. Here he came in over my head carrying another branch to the nest.

Here the two of them are together. His stomach is full so he's allowing her have the entire fish.

Here he is on a fly-by showing off his nice catch.

Here he is with one of the several branches that he brought in while I was there.

Not only do you have to react quickly when they are closer than normal but there's a greater chance that the photo will be blurry, also. Here's another shot of the male.

Here he is in a nice graceful glide .......

Sometimes they are so close I couldn't get the entire Osprey in the viewfinder.

One more ..... last one for now. I was able to take a lot of photos and also missed quite a few potential opportunities. I have three other locations that I check out on occasion but haven't yet. Once they arrive, get their nest in order and the incubation period begins, activity slows down until after the eggs hatch. What really becomes enjoyable is when they have three young ones. That means as the season winds down, you have five Osprey around the same nest.

Nice job Linth! It's so good to see them return!

Fantastic photos, every one of them! I wish it would stop raining so I could try for some of these photos. We drove by one of our nests today and the wind and rain had cleared the starting of a nest clear off. Didn't see an osprey, but I'm sure they were closeby.

Keep up the excellent job Linth, I'm enjoying your photos!

Gorgeous shots Linth...it will be exciting to see all the images you capture this season!

Linth, they are wonderful shots. At such close range, you've done incredibly well to capture them in flight. (Going a green colour here)

Thank you all .....

I'm sure this sounds weird to some but sometimes I reach a point of wondering how many more photos can I take of an Osprey or Bald Eagle, in the sky, and get something that I don't already have. But, I keep doing it.

So, here's a few more that I took on the same day.

Taking off to get some more nesting material ...... hopefully the female will "dust" a little while he is at working.

Linth, you've brightened up still another rainy day here! Thanks a bunch. Your photos of these birds and the eagles never get boring!! More!!

Thanks, duc ....

Another shot of the female enjoying her meal. She was actually only about 10 feet off the ground and was between me and my car. I was getting ready to leave. So, I had to just stand there and take photos while she finished off the fish. The nerve of her ! I was already late. My wife was waiting for me. What's a guy to do ?

LOL Linth, you did the right thing. This last photo couldn't get any sharper or clearer. Awesome!

I agree, the last photo is gorgeous!

This past Sunday, I decided to visit one of my other favorite Osprey sites. I was not disappointed. Upon arrival, both were at the nest. I stayed for about 2 1/2/ hours just patiently waiting for them to go airborne. The male was, as usual, the most active, bringing back sticks and fish. I took quite a few photos. Looking out over the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay is an added pleasure. Numerous vessels pass-by, to or from the Port of Baltimore. I always take a photo of them and then check on line where they are from. The one that day was the "Fortune Wing", traveling under the flag of Hong Kong. Today, midday,they just entered the Gulf of Mexico heading toward their next destination, Port Arthur, TX. A huge flock of Scaups could be seen out in the middle of the Bay. Cormorants were constantly flying up and down the Bay. And, the cool breeze coming in off of the Bay made it extra relaxing.

Here are just a few of the photos.

This is a combination of four (4) quick photos of the female Osprey arriving at the nest.

Here the male is looking skyward while the female is telling him to go and get some food. She's hungry !

"Okay, I'll go ..."

Here is the male bringing back a stick for the nest. The nest appears to be in pretty good shape in comparison to some others that I have seen.

The female heading back toward the nest .....

Since their nest is out in the water, I get a lot of tail shots. Here he is bringing in another stick. After observing them for a while, their behavior was rather predictable.

She is always squawking orders to him .......

A close-up of the male with a freshly caught fish. He is headed toward a tree, off to my right, where he will eat the head portion of the fish before heading back to the female. When she gets the fish, she, too, leaves the nest for the adjacent trees.

Nice! That first "framed" on looks like it was at Margaret's nest with that little sprig of green! You didn't fly to Australia did you?? ;-)

Wonderful shots Linth! Love the tail shot.

Fantastic shots, Linth.

LOL, Mrs Ed