2020 OSPREYS AND EGRETS

[gary]

this will be an osprey thread, i missed april and some of may due to illness, but the eggs have hatched and i was out today getting some shots, dad was on the nest and mom came back with a small fish that she fed the chicks. this particular nest has 3, and hopefully all 3 will survive to fly. i am hoping for some closer shots by next week, shipping its way to me is the sony 200-600 f5.6-6.3 zoom, which when hung on the a9 is one heck of a bird rig
this is just the first shot, i will process a few more tonight and put up a couple more

 

[gary]

first clear proof that there are 3 chicks in this particular nest, and while ospreys are not always successful in fledging 3, this is an experienced seasoned pair, they have fledged out of this nest for a couple of years now

url=https://k-gphotos.smugmug.com/2020/2020-OSPREYS/i-v33MqLW/A][/URL]

dad took off and mom handled food distribution, everyone got something to eat and there was no pushing and free for all in the nest, very orderly service in fact. and chicks this size need a lot of fish, so usually one is off fishing at any time



wish i could make these bigger, really good views through the lens of feeding

[url=https://k-gphotos.smugmug.com/2020/2020-OSPREYS/i-bD8dSnx/A][/URL]

 

[zackiedawg]

You're going to love the 200-600mm on the A9. Quite the pair that is...and even works very well with the 1.4x TC. Nice to see the osprey nesting and breeding. We've got a ton of them down here, but only flying around, fishing and eating - they don't nest in my area. I'd say 99.9% of my osprey shots are in flight as that's usually how I see them! A few from this year, with the 200-600mm:

Osprey vs Bald Eagle that stole his fish:

Nabbing a fish:

 

[gary]

really nice action shots, what you probably have are 1-2 year old birds, they do not come all the way north to new england from south america as juveniles, next year the one year olds will be 2 and will come north looking to mate and establish a nest. i am really hopeful about this lens/a9 combo, my shots above are all with the 100-400 plus 1.4 tc, also a great bird combo, but i really want the reach for coastal birds. looking forward to next weekend, i should have the lens tomorrow night and i just got email from kirk that the lens foot has shipped. kirk makes a nice long lens foot, should feel very secure on my wimberly gimbal head

 

[gary]

ok, i know i started out with just ospreys, but i got a nice egret launch sequence, just as i was going to pack it in , i missed the stab at what was probably a fiddler crab, , but this will do

[url=https://k-gphotos.smugmug.com/2020/2020-EGRETS/i-dSMSTmB/A][/URL]

[url=https://k-gphotos.smugmug.com/2020/2020-EGRETS/i-JcCgcqC/A][/URL]

[url=https://k-gphotos.smugmug.com/2020/2020-EGRETS/i-B7wftvn/A][/URL]

[url=https://k-gphotos.smugmug.com/2020/2020-EGRETS/i-6VXQWjg/A][/URL]

 

[gary]

so a week later, as you'll see in a few we still have 3 very healthy looking chicks on the nest, they are getting big, stretching wings and looking like only a couple of weeks from flying. these were saturday morning, with my new 200-600 plus 1.4 tc on the A9

url=https://k-gphotos.smugmug.com/2020/2020-OSPREYS-MATTITUCK/6-13-20-OSPREYS/i-pxLf6GV/A][/URL]



clear evidence of 3 in the nest

 

[gary]

as you can see on the left, the chicks are stretching out those wings, starting to see feathers clearly defined along the edges when i look on the large monitor, hoping to catch some flight antics soon

 

[gary]

these are from 6/27, i haven't been able to get back since then, but am hoping to get to the park tonight before sunset, i would expect them to be flying soon if not already

[url=https://k-gphotos.smugmug.com/2020/2020-OSPREYS-MATTITUCK/6-27-20-OSPREYS/i-pDNMv4s/A][/URL]