How do you mark the beginning of spring? For some, it is the time when crocuses and daffodils begin to bloom. Here in the Washington D.C. area, one of the signs of spring is the blossoming of the cherry trees.
For me, I consider spring to have sprung when Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) reappear. These impressive raptors, sometimes referred to as fish hawks, depart in the autumn and throughout the winter I eagerly await their return. Why? I gladly spend countless hour in fascination and enchantment as I watch osprey soaring through the skies, hovering in the air, and occasionally plunging feet-first into the water to catch a fish. It is also fun to watch them gathering materials to build or repair nests.
Yesterday I spotted my first ospreys this season while exploring Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge on an unusually warm and sunny March day. Here are a couple of my favorite shots from those encounters, which mark the return of the ospreys for 2019.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Welcome home, Osprey! The Osprey are my ‘sign’ that Spring is here too. I just posted my sightings up further north of you on the Chesapeake Bay, I’ve seen four since yesterday. 🙂
Nice Mike! It is always fun to photograph Ospreys!
Awesome to see its wings outstretched!
They are magnificent birds, Mike. Love that airborne capture.
Osprey have been busy around me too. Many stay all year round here, but far from where we can see them. It’s mating time so they look to almost everywhere.