Friday, October 17, 2008

TWO GRACEFUL EGRETS, ONE SMALL PERCH

For the Snowy Egret, it was probably only a few moments of quiet and solitude... looking out over the water .For the Great Egret, it was "Move over fellow, this tree is mine!"


For me, it was the surprise I felt to see those BIG shiny black feet actually find a balancing grip on that twiggy little perch! He seemed to be so elated with himself and his victory that he felt the need to flap his wings in celebration.



He finally settles in to resume the duties of looking out upon the water, perhaps for brunch!


meanwhile on the other side of the lake:
"I'm telling you Evelyn, he had really big feet and he came right at me..."
(sorry, just had to...it fit so well! lol )

Sunday, October 12, 2008

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION


Its top most branches, bare of leaves, rises perhaps thirty to thirty-five feet from the ground. Its root system is nestled in from the lake's edge and it sits among others whose foliage is seeing change. It is deadwood. To most of us it is simply seen as a linear silhouette of limbs and branches. Its purpose, however, is being kept alive by the birds that choose to use it as a perch! Today, that bird is an osprey. This is my first sighting of a wild osprey! Wow!! Part of me wants to snap a hundred pictures but I don't want to cause the osprey to leave its perch. At the same time I want to just look at him.... so I try to be contented with only taking a few pictures and hope, with some luck, that one of them turns out to be in focus!!


He allows me a few seconds to admire him before he takes flight. He heads out towards the middle of the lake. His flight pattern seems routine and consists of a few wing lifts followed by a relaxing glide.


I'm watching him as he glides over the lake but suddenly his body language changes to reflect an urgency to quickly move in the opposite direction.
I now realize why, it seems the lake's resident eagle (one of them) had other thoughts about the osprey's presence.
I couldn't believe what I was seeing or hearing. Obviously, a disagreement emerged between these two. I managed to keep taking pictures. I wasn't sure what I was capturing but isn't that one of the thrills of trying to photograph wildlife? Unfortunately, as they continued their disagreement they also drifted from the range of my camera lens. I kept them in sight, watching and listening along with several boaters who also witnessed this event. Eventually each raptor went their own way...
So, what makes a great morning? I guess one definition might include, getting to see a wild Osprey and a Bald Eagle, actually having your camera with you and oh yea, finding that location , location, location!Check out my post about eagles on October 1! Did you know if you click on these blog pictures you will see an enlargement..lol I just found that out!! Obviously I'm a newbie!!







would like to hear your thoughts..