Earlier this season, it looked like a pair of Bald Eagles had occupied a large nest at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Each time that I visited the refuge, I would check the nesting site to look for indications that an eagle was sitting on eggs. Unfortunately, the nest is so deep and so high up that it is almost impossible to tell if an eagle is inside of the nest.
Last week, I watched a pair of Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) fly into the nest and seize it and captured this shot of them doing so. Generally ospreys use much smaller, thrown-together nests, but I guess that this pair decided to advantage of what I assume is a currently unoccupied eagle nest.
As I watched the two ospreys approach the nest with dangled legs, I couldn’t help but think of the scenes from the Wizard of Oz movie in which the flying monkeys seized Dorothy. The mind works in strange ways.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Great action shot!
Thanks, Laura. I spotted the ospreys heading for the nest and was fortunate to capture them both in flight.
What a moment to witness, Michael. I haven’t seen anything that dramatic myself, but now I’m wondering what quiet nest dramas I’ve missed while scanning the treetops. Thanks for sharing this.
Thanks. I suspect that there is a whole lot more going on that we generally see in nature. Some of it, of course is “behind the scenes” and hidden from view, but much of it, I think, is taking place in plain view and we simply don’t notice.
I have Osprey now I need to start looking up for their nest, lol not just at the moon.