Fishing osprey

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Fishing osprey

February 13, 2017 by Mike Powell

I was thrilled when I caught an Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) in action today at Lake Cook in Alexandria, Virginia. I had seen one there a little over a week ago, so I was somewhat ready when I saw one circling overhead this afternoon. It didn’t take long for the osprey to pull out a pretty good sized fish—I think the lake is stocked with trout, though I really don’t know fish well enough to know if that is the type of fish that the osprey caught.

Although I knew that the osprey would eventually dive for a fish, I was a little slow in reacting when it finally did. In particular, I had difficulty reacquiring focus after the big splash so images like the final image below are a bit soft in focus. I was fortunate that there was a lot of sunlight and I was able to get some sharper images when the osprey flew higher in the sky.

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Lake Cook, Osprey, Osprey with fish, Pandion haliaetus, Tamron 150-600mm | 12 Comments

12 Responses

on February 13, 2017 at 8:37 pm | Reply svtakeiteasy

Beautiful action shots Mike!
- on February 13, 2017 at 8:37 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Chris.
on February 13, 2017 at 9:01 pm | Reply Bird Animal Nature and Wildlife Photography

Nice article..
thanks for sharing.
Wishing you a very Happy Valentines day
on February 13, 2017 at 10:19 pm | Reply Laura (PA Pict)

Amazing action shots, Mike! Wow!
- on February 13, 2017 at 10:33 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Laura. A lot of luck and a bit of skill. I watched as the osprey circled, but had no real idea where he would dive or in what direction he would fly.
  - on February 14, 2017 at 6:28 am Laura (PA Pict)
    
    That’s what makes it even more impressive. You have to know your subject to predict what it might do and then be flexible. It’s not like photographing a still life or landscape.
  - on February 14, 2017 at 6:29 am Laura (PA Pict)
    
    Not that those are automatically easy subjects either but you know what I mean. Different process.
  - on February 14, 2017 at 7:19 am Mike Powell
    
    No matter what you choose to photograph, there are a whole lot of creative choices to be made in terms of framing and composition as well as with camera settings. It’s part of what makes photography so much fun for me–I get to express myself and present my view of the world through my images.
on February 14, 2017 at 1:29 pm | Reply waltersanford

You seem to have mastered BiF photos, Mike. The first photo is excellent, minus the schmutz on your camera sensor! 😉
- on February 14, 2017 at 1:35 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Walter. Normally the cloudy skies help to hide the “schmutz,” but the clear blue sky made it stand out. I really do need to make a go at cleaning the sensor.
on February 15, 2017 at 9:05 pm | Reply bayphotosbydonna

Awesome!
on February 21, 2017 at 9:18 am | Reply talain45

Beautiful Shoots Mike, love all three.