I could see the osprey slowly descending over the pond, but I also knew what water was in that area was inches deep at most, so I knew it couldn't be going for a fish. What could it possibly be after? This is the type of situation where you just shoot and hope to sort it out later.
With talons outstretched, was she going to try to capture the sandpiper? The only time I have known an osprey to take something beside a fish was once while my wife and I were fishing. Actually, I didn't see it; she did. An osprey took a mallard duckling. Personally, I have never seen them eat anything but fish.
To my surprise, it closed it's talons around a clump of mud mixed with decaying reeds and headed back to her nest at the edge of the marsh pond. I have never seen an osprey on the ground even when gathering nesting material.
If I had simply watched and wondered what the osprey was doing, I would not have had this series to show you. Sometimes you have to shoot first and only later understand what you were seeing. I take a lot of pictures that I know I'm going to throw out. But, I take them so I can relate what I saw to my wife who enjoys me telling her about what I have seen, then I toss them. The telephoto lens allows you to see things you could never see with your naked eye, much like a pair of binoculars. But, it also can be compared to a microscope because after you bring them up on the computer, you can zoom in and look at small detail in the photo. That is what this series represents. I zoomed in and cropped them closer so that you could see in detail what the osprey was doing.
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