Scenes from the River

The reason the one young Osprey is chasing after the other is because the first one caught a small fish. Stealing is always an option among birds.

The fish is so small that it is hard to even see it in this photo, but if you look at the one foot, you will see a tiny, little fish tail.

I get this stare all the time from Ospreys. They will fly right over you and stare at you like this. I always wonder what they are thinking...

Seems awful early to be choosing a mate. Or awful late.  But that is what appears to be going on. I guess I could be wrong. The tall one struck me as being a young bird, but I can't say why beyond the look of it's feathers and the fact that it acted rather stupid.

I like this image for it's photographic qualities rather than any revelation of animal behavior. Playing dark and light off one another (chiaroscuro) is a favored technique when the day makes it a possibility.

Here is another Osprey chick practicing diving (if it doesn't catch a fish) or practicing pulling one out of the deep.

Well, he pulled one out of the deep. That is a Great Blue Heron (emphasis on "blue") watching from the shadow of the log on the shoreline. I love the way the sun spotlights little areas along the shore.