Ospreys leave our area in the fall and spend their winters in warmer locations in Central and South America. Around this time of the year, I keep my eye open for their return and this past Saturday I spotted my first one of the year. The osprey (Pandion haliaetus) was perched in a tree with branches that partially blocked my view. As I tried to maneuver to get a clear shot, the osprey took off, giving me a view of its massive wingspan. As you can see from the two images, it was an overcast day and color is mostly absent. If you look closely, though, you can just get a glimpse of the yellow of the osprey’s eye.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
You are so lucky to have these magnificent birds.
Thanks. They really are awesome birds. I am sure that I will capture some better images of them soaring in the sky later in the season, but is is always exciting to see the first one of the year. Unlike some folks, who are always in search of new things to photograph, I mostly spend my time in local areas and enjoy watching how they change through the seasons.
And we’re in the process of watching our ospreys leave. Here, they’re always one of the first signs of fall, and hearing the first one cry as it wheels in is wonderful. I still was seeing one pair last week, but the week before that I saw several gathered, wheeling high in the sky, as they will before they disappear. I always think of it as their test run. 🙂
Send some more my way. 🙂 I saw another osprey today, but suspect that it might be the same one that I spotted on last Friday, given that it was in the same general location.
Very cool!
Hard to miss that guy – great shot. Beautiful bird.
Benjamin was so excited to see an “opry”! We’re working on correct pronunciation this year. Being my little companion on the blog following trail has provided learning opportunities that he might otherwise miss. A blogger from South Carolina occasionally posts about ospreys with photos of nesting sites, etc. This has been of interest to him since last summer. I doubt that they will visit my backyard, but Benjamin does keep looking. Thank-you x 2!!
Once again that is really cool. Yesterday I got a clearer shot of an osprey that I may post soon. Kids are so endlessly curious about nature–it is too bad that most of us lose that curiosity as we become adults.
I photographed an osprey at Lake Fairfax this past weekend. I love them!