Yesterday was cloudy and rainy and the wildlife seemed to have sought shelter, but I spotted one bird circling over the largest body of water at my marshland park. Judging from the way that it flew, I initially thought it might be some kind of seagull.
From different angles, though, it looked a little bit like some kind of a hawk. I managed to get some photos of the various wing positions while the bird was flying and find them to be fascinating. Eventually I got a somewhat blurred shot of the entire bird and have concluded that it probably is an osprey (Pandion haliaetus), a bird that I have never before encountered, but definitely one I hope to see again in the near future.
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Mike Powell 
i just love the first capture here… super timing 🙂
Thanks. It was a lot more luck than skill. I was having trouble acquiring focus and was snapping like crazy when focus was acquired.
I just spent a week trying to photograph ospreys,they do look very much like huge gulls 🙂
Thanks, Ed. That’s reassuring, because I initially thought my mind was playing tricks with me (and the light was not that great). Ospreys looks to be fascinating birds and I may go looking for them at other locations where they are seen more frequently.
I like the first shot because it shows the size of both the wings and body. The bird’s body looks tiny compared to the size of his wings.
I love the first shot, amazing. Beautiful bird. Great shots Mike.