Wednesday, July 27, 2011

O/ Alphabe-Thursday

Osprey flying into nest - Bobcageon. Ontario

O is for OSPREYS, also known as a sea hawks, raptors that are approximately 60cm (24 inches) long with a wingspan that measures 160 centimetres (64 inches).  Yes, they are big birds, though a bit smaller than bald eagles.

Adult osprey feeding baby

OSPREYS usually breed near freshwater lakes and waterways as their diet consists mostly of fish, often slow-moving fish like pike and pickerel.

Nest atop high pole with a platform especially made for ospreys

Ospreys live on every continent except Antarctica, often building their nests far above the ground atop a spruce or pine. Their nests are made of twigs gathered from the ground or broken off trees. Where no tall trees are available, they choose power pylons (common here in Ontario), factory chimneys or platforms on high poles.

Added later: I should explain that I took the first two photos standing on a bridge (or was it a pier?) on one side of the river,  and took the third shot from the other side of the river. 

I am linking to Jenny Matlock at Alphabe-Thursday HERE

42 comments:

Lois Evensen said...

Very, very nice! Love the image where we can see the baby, too.

Small City Scenes said...

Excellent shot. Awesome Ospreys!!
There are several nests atop power poles over on Whidbey where my mother lives. MB

Diane AZ said...

Fantastic shots of powerful wings and sweet baby! Since ospreys live near water and mostly eat fish; that's probably why I never see them here in the desert. ;)

TexWisGirl said...

i love that the platform was provided for them! finally, man does something nice for nature... :)

2sweetnsaxy said...

Wow! Great captures. Aren't you glad you have that zoom!? :-D

Dawn said...

magnificent!
you dont see sights like that too often!

MadSnapper said...

wonderful shot in the first one, i love to see their wings spread. i stood below one of the poles like this and watched and listened to the babies screaming feed me. could not get a shot of them though. we have many poles like this since florida does not have a lot of really tall trees

Lisa said...

Wonderful images. Something I dont see and lovely to see through your lens.

My name is Riet said...

What beautiful shots. Great o word.

Anonymous said...

[{first two photos standing on a high bridge on one side of the river, and took the third shot from the other side of the river}]....your photo's are absolutely incredible!...WOW!
Great "O" word,Ospreys!Beautiful birds!
~Jo
LazyonLoblolly

Tina´s PicStory said...

Great shots and wonderful blue sky! :) (Picstory is blue this week .... ....) LG Tina

Personalized Sketches and Sentiments said...

Wonderful photos and be sure you are standing steady when you get your pics!

Blessings & Aloha!
:o) Love your comment at my post haha I'm happy that my hubby and I don't "repel" either :o)

Vintagesouthernlife said...

Great shots.... very impressive birds!

ArtandArchitecture-SF.com said...

Amazing shots. Osprey are so very elegant, and you captured them so beautifully.

Unknown said...

Wonderful pictures! I love that he looks ready to fly!

Anonymous said...

Great pictures! I just love that people build these nest boxes on a pole for them.

Teresa

kayerj said...

O is for outstanding

Lowell said...

Now those we have...but you got much better photos than I am able to get! Must have used your long lens with a tripod, right? They are gorgeous birds!

Mary said...

Terrific photos! We have them on our lake, I love to boat buy and get a glimpse of the babies :-)

Nancy said...

Amazing shots. I can't believe how high that platform is.!!

Anonymous said...

Magnificent creatures, I love your images.

Kathy said...

Awesome ospreys!

Jack said...

The top photo, with spread wings, is wonderful, EG.

Michelle said...

I recently saw some in Florida. Beautiful creatures!

George said...

Thanks for an interesting post on the osprey. Your first picture is absolutely fantastic.

Randy said...

I hope the babies don't fall out before their time. That would be a high fall.

Lisa Gordon said...

What a magnificent creature.
Beautifully photographed.

Janie said...

Great photos of the osprey!
We saw an osprey nest in Yellowstone last weekend. The nest was on a pinnacle over the Yellowstone River. Unfortunately, we didn't have the zoom power to get a close up photo.

Pondside said...

Fantastic shots! There's an osprey nest not too far from here, and I like to keep an eye on it.

Kate said...

Stunning photos! Even the baby looks formidable; at that early age the beak looks fairly dangerous. We have lots of eagles along the Mississippi and I wonder if ospreys are there as well. I'll have to educate myself on the differences.

Roan said...

Magnificent bird! I'm glad you explained how you got this shot, I had you pictured climbing up the pole and hanging on by your legs while leaning back to get the shot. I was about to be impressed by your acrobatic skills.

Darla said...

Great shots of those big birds. I like the fact that someone has built them a nesting place.

Darla

jabblog said...

Beautiful! Ospreys in UK are strictly protected but even so some strange people try to steal the eggs.

Rocky Mountain Woman said...

How wonderful to be able to capture a photo of the baby!!!!

xxoo,

RMW

Rose said...

Oh, how I wish I could have seen these!

Halcyon said...

Wow! I've never seen one so close-up.

Jenny said...

Such powerful and majestic birds.

I loved seeing a picture of the nest. The size is really outstanding, isn't it?

Thanks for a fascinating link this week.

A+

Craver Vii said...

I love those birds, but haven't seen them, except in a wildlife nursery. Great pics. Pier or no, that's a nice close-up!

Pat said...

I have camera lens envy - great photos you have!

Anonymous said...

Amazing photos. Thanks for including so much detail about ospreys. I learned several things I didn't know, all courtesy of your blog!

Dutchbaby said...

That is a mighty fine lens you have there. Great captures! I enjoyed seeing the high pole too.

Unknown said...

What amazing shots you took! The first two are so up close that it's hard to believe they were taken from far away! I really enjoyed seeing your photos and learning more about the birds :)

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East Gwillimbury is a rural town less than an hour north of Toronto, Canada's largest city. My family calls me CameraGirl because I take my camera with me wherever I go.