Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Pandionidae

Brrr ....! I turned on my heating this afternoon (4 September 2015), when the temperature outside was 6C (feeling like 2C apparently). Yesterday, I took my winter jacket to have a long tear on one sleeve repaired, so I guess the weather thought it would be funny to give us temperatures that are more like winter for a few days : ) It's such a gloomy, overcast day, with four more like it in the forecast. Then back to much nicer weather, thank goodness. On 10 August 2015, I drove to where one of the Osprey families in the city had their nest, built on a high, wooden platform. Luckily, I got there when the family was reasonably active - by the time I left, the three youngsters had settled down into the nest and disappeared from sight. The light was harsh and it was a really hot day. This photo is fully zoomed (48x, and according to the EXIF data, the Focal Length (35mm format) is 1200 mm), I always stay far away so as not to stress any of the birds - also, those talons look really big and really sharp, and I still remember reading a number of years ago that Ospreys will attack anything or anyone that gets near their nest. When I arrived, one of the adults had been perched on the end of the wooden bar on the right. When it flew off in search of food, a third young one that had been near the adult, very gingerly made its way the few inches to where the adult had been standing, turned around and, after some wing stretches and flapping, very carefully returned to its original spot (just off my photo to the left). Some of the time, I could see one or both of the adults flying around, very high up. They returned to the nest with food a couple of times, but I was too slow to catch these moments properly. "Unique among North American raptors for its diet of live fish and ability to dive into water to catch them, Ospreys are common sights soaring over shorelines, patrolling waterways, and standing on their huge stick nests, white heads gleaming. These large, rangy hawks do well around humans and have rebounded in numbers following the ban on the pesticide DDT. Hunting Ospreys are a picture of concentration, diving with feet outstretched and yellow eyes sighting straight along their talons." From AllABoutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Osprey/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osprey

Ten days ago, on 10 August 2015, I drove to where one of the Osprey families in the city had their nest, built on a high, wooden platform. Luckily, I got there when the family was reasonably active - by the time I left, the three youngsters had settled down into the nest and disappeared from sight. The light was harsh and it was a really hot day. I did lighten this image, but I think that maybe it could have done with a bit more brightening. I always stay far away so as not to stress any of the birds - also, those talons look really big and really sharp, and I still remember reading a number of years ago that Ospreys will attack anything or anyone that gets near their nest. When I arrived, one of the adults had been perched on the end of the wooden bar on the right. When it flew off in search of food, a third young one that had been near the adult, very gingerly made its way the few inches to where the adult had been standing, turned around and, after some wing stretches and flapping, very carefully returned to its original spot (off my photo). I also got this shot of one of the other youngsters when, with a powerful flap of its wings, it became airborne for a few seconds. Some of the time, I could see one or both of the adults flying around, very high up. They returned to the nest with food a couple of times, but I was too slow to catch these moments properly. "Unique among North American raptors for its diet of live fish and ability to dive into water to catch them, Ospreys are common sights soaring over shorelines, patrolling waterways, and standing on their huge stick nests, white heads gleaming. These large, rangy hawks do well around humans and have rebounded in numbers following the ban on the pesticide DDT. Hunting Ospreys are a picture of concentration, diving with feet outstretched and yellow eyes sighting straight along their talons." From AllABoutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Osprey/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osprey

A week ago, on 10 August 2015, I drove to where one of the Osprey families in the city had their nest, built on a high, wooden platform. Luckily, I got there when the family was reasonably active - by the time I left, the three youngsters had settled down into the nest and disappeared from sight. This photo is fully zoomed (48x, and according to the EXIF data, the Focal Length (35mm format) is 1200 mm), as I always stay far away so as not to stress any of the birds - also, those talons look really big and really sharp, and I still remember reading a number of years ago that Ospreys will attack anything or anyone that gets near their nest. One of the adults had been perched on the end of this wooden bar. When it flew off in search of food, this young one that had been near the adult, very gingerly made its way the few inches to where the adult had been standing, turned around and, after some wing stretches and flapping, very carefully returned to its original spot. I also got a shot of one of the other nestlings when, with a powerful flap of its wings, it became airborne for a few seconds. Some of the time, I could see one or both of the adults flying around, very high up. They returned to the nest with food a couple of times, but I was too slow to catch these moments properly. "Unique among North American raptors for its diet of live fish and ability to dive into water to catch them, Ospreys are common sights soaring over shorelines, patrolling waterways, and standing on their huge stick nests, white heads gleaming. These large, rangy hawks do well around humans and have rebounded in numbers following the ban on the pesticide DDT. Hunting Ospreys are a picture of concentration, diving with feet outstretched and yellow eyes sighting straight along their talons." From AllABoutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Osprey/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osprey

Yesterday afternoon, 10 August 2015, I drove to where one of the Osprey families in the city had their nest, built on a high, wooden platform. Luckily, I got there when the family was reasonably active - by the time I left, the three youngsters had settled down into the nest and disappeared from sight. This photo is fully zoomed (48x, and according to the EXIF data, the Focal Length (35mm format) is 1200 mm), as I always stay far away so as not to stress any of the birds - also, those talons look really big and really sharp, and I still remember reading a number of years ago that Ospreys will attack anything or anyone that gets near their nest. The bird on the far right did fly from the nest and the young one perched nearest very gingerly made its way the few inches to where the adult had been standing, turned around and, after some wing stretches and flapping, very carefully returned to its original spot. I also got a shot of one of the other nestlings when, with a powerful flap of its wings, it became airborne for a few seconds. Only when I got home and downloaded my photos could I see the white markings on the young ones' feathers. Some of the time, I could see one or both of the adults flying around, very high up. They returned to the nest with food a couple of times, but I was too slow to catch these moments properly. "Unique among North American raptors for its diet of live fish and ability to dive into water to catch them, Ospreys are common sights soaring over shorelines, patrolling waterways, and standing on their huge stick nests, white heads gleaming. These large, rangy hawks do well around humans and have rebounded in numbers following the ban on the pesticide DDT. Hunting Ospreys are a picture of concentration, diving with feet outstretched and yellow eyes sighting straight along their talons." From AllABoutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Osprey/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osprey

Yesterday, 8 July 2015, was the first time I had been to visit this family of Osprey this year. This is a fully (48 x) zoomed photo. From that distance, I wasn't quite sure if there were three young ones or just two definite ones. It was SO hot while I stood and waited, hoping that the other adult would appear, but eventually, it did, bringing supper. "Unique among North American raptors for its diet of live fish and ability to dive into water to catch them, Ospreys are common sights soaring over shorelines, patrolling waterways, and standing on their huge stick nests, white heads gleaming. These large, rangy hawks do well around humans and have rebounded in numbers following the ban on the pesticide DDT. Hunting Ospreys are a picture of concentration, diving with feet outstretched and yellow eyes sighting straight along their talons." From AllABoutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Osprey/id en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osprey

Such harsh light falling on the bright white feathers, and I did a good job of blowing them out : ) We had a great, but distant, view of this Osprey landing on this tall, dead tree and eating a nice fresh fish. Seen at Hull's Wood, Fish Creek Park, not far from the Bow River, on September 4th. Sometimes known as a Sea Hawk or Fish Eagle. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osprey