Osprey with his "turkey"Copyright 2008 Lydia Hinshaw
PONCE INLET, FL -- Thursday was a feast day for ospreys, and photographers.
Prince Charming and I set out with cameras on what was at first a disappointing junket to this beach town 17 miles south of our own.
Things started looking up when we stopped at a convenience store. While the Prince went inside to pick up a couple of candy bars to tide us over until turkey-time, I sat in the car and caught a glimpse of an osprey flying by with a fish.
It took me more time than I liked to get myself and the camera strap freed from my shoulder belt.
Outside the car, finally, I couldn't spot the bird anywhere. But wait -- there he was perched on a pipe bolted to the top of a utility pole, just steps from the ocean, blue sky behind him, light in the right place and easily approached. I remembered to look before I crossed the street.
I spent the next 20 minutes snapping away, while this fellow sat there with his fish (a sheepshead.) He was on the alert, scanning the skies for any other bird which might want to steal his lunch.
Finally he began to rip the fish apart, swallowing some parts and tossing others to the ground.
Later, near the county park in Ponce Inlet, we spotted another osprey with a fish so big he struggled to control it (below.)
Our turkey dinner, eaten on a deck at a Ponce Inlet restaurant, was a disappointment (we should have opted for seafood), but I came home with 276 frames, at least 20 of which were worth saving.
More osprey pictures will be posted on my Flickr page, link at right.
Prince Charming and I set out with cameras on what was at first a disappointing junket to this beach town 17 miles south of our own.
Things started looking up when we stopped at a convenience store. While the Prince went inside to pick up a couple of candy bars to tide us over until turkey-time, I sat in the car and caught a glimpse of an osprey flying by with a fish.
It took me more time than I liked to get myself and the camera strap freed from my shoulder belt.
Outside the car, finally, I couldn't spot the bird anywhere. But wait -- there he was perched on a pipe bolted to the top of a utility pole, just steps from the ocean, blue sky behind him, light in the right place and easily approached. I remembered to look before I crossed the street.
I spent the next 20 minutes snapping away, while this fellow sat there with his fish (a sheepshead.) He was on the alert, scanning the skies for any other bird which might want to steal his lunch.
Finally he began to rip the fish apart, swallowing some parts and tossing others to the ground.
Later, near the county park in Ponce Inlet, we spotted another osprey with a fish so big he struggled to control it (below.)
Our turkey dinner, eaten on a deck at a Ponce Inlet restaurant, was a disappointment (we should have opted for seafood), but I came home with 276 frames, at least 20 of which were worth saving.
More osprey pictures will be posted on my Flickr page, link at right.
Another osprey struggles to deal with a too-big fish
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