My usual trips out for the sunset have me racing out the door because I had lost track of time and was barely going to make it. Not last night, however. My goal was the Dunedin marina, in hopes of nice photo ops of boats, etc, plus a nice sunset. So prepared was I that I had enough time to kill to walk to the far side of the marina to see what photo ops might be there. I found an osprey up on a ship’s mast, much closer than I’d ever been to one before. I was sure he’d fly before I could get his picture, but he didn’t appear to be bothered by me at all.
I used to be disappointed when the bird I saw flying was ‘only’ an osprey, as opposed to the eagle I was always hoping to see. But I’ve looked them up recently and discovered that they used to be known as fish-hawks, and were endangered due to pesticides, but they have recovered and have now been given a classification all their own. They are impressive as they hover over water, watching, waiting, and then dive talons-first and fly away with their catch. They are found nearly world-wide, anywhere they can fish in fresh or salt waters. This one wasn’t hunting, he was calling to his mate at the end of his day. It took me a minute to see her. In the feature photo, just above dead center, on a cross piece of a mast. They were calling to each other as the sun was sinking lower in the sky. Another day done…
A Snowbird's Life Through the Lens 