Lots of Osprey

Lots of Osprey in the canyon yesterday! After having seen none on my last couple visits I wasn’t too optimistic this time. As I drove in I noticed one of the adult eagles guarding the nest, so I assumed all was well there and moved on. I figured I could always shoot the nest later in better light.

Quick Results

I was surprised when I spotted a blue heron in the very first stretch of flat river. He sat still for a few images before flying off. I was lucky to capture this flight image with the camera settings I was using. I was capturing his portrait when he flew so I was shooting with only a 600th of a second.  Normally for an in flight bird I would like to have at least a 1600th of  a second! Perhaps this speaks to the effectiveness of the IBIS (in body image stabilization) in the Canon R7!

First Osprey Sighting

Not long after I encountered the heron, my first osprey came into view. He was perched along the riverbank and posing nicely. I watched him for quite a while hoping for a flight shot, which I eventually acquired (see above). Much to my surprise, he flew only a few feet to another tree where I was able to repeat the portrait session!

Several Osprey

I soon became aware that there may be several osprey inhabiting the canyon at this point. I noticed that right after my subject flew downstream, I encountered another osprey who also flew downstream. Then on my way upstream I was granted another opportunity. By this time I was thinking that there were three or four osprey there to entertain me! I would really like to see a growing population of nesting osprey if the ecosystem can support it.

A Few More Birds

There was also a ton of small birds to photograph. I saw warblers, blue birds, American dippers and a merganser duck. Here are a few more pictures from the day’s adventure. Click each one to enlarge if you want a better view. Hope you all enjoy!

Also, Free Book Friday went so well that I have decided to continue the sale for one more day. The Spirit of the Wolf eBook will be available for download for free from Amazon for today (Saturday July 1st). After that it will return  to the normal price.