.garrettparkinson

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When I arrived at the lake/pond this past Sunday, low and behold, there was an Osprey in a tree, on the small island that is in the middle of the lake. I knew that it wasn't going anywhere for awhile as it was busy preening its feathers. I wanted to try and capture it as it took off from its perch so I set up and dug in. Little did I know what was going to unfold over the next two hours. After about 30 minutes of grooming its feathers, the bird suddently began to chirp. The last time I had heard this chirp was in Idaho this past July, when the parent on the nest was calling the second parent to come to the nest with the fish it had caught. Nothing like that was going on here. I was truly intriqued. Suddenly a second Osprey appreared in the sky, circling above the island and the lake. My bird then took off and began circling along with the second bird. They then flew off together. I thought to myself that's it for today, when suddenly my bird reappeared and landed back on its original perch. I thought, cool, I am back in business. Again, my bird (for lack of a better term) began the task of grooming its feathers. This proceeded for another 10-15 minutes, (meanwhile the cormarant had swamm by, a couple grebes had swam by, there was a Hermit Thrush on the ground next to me, a Yellowthroat in the cattails and I was also watching a Great Egret in the top of tree waiting to see if it was going to take off). Then as suddenly as it had landed it began to chirp again. I immediately looked up for the second Osprey. Except this time there were two Ospreys circling above my Osprey. I nearly creamed my shorts! In my ten years of photographing birds at the lake I had never seen more than one Osprey at a time. Now I am looking at three. In idaho they are everywhere, but in Southern Calif???? Anyway, my bird takes off again and begins circling with the other two. I suddenly realized that they were hunting. My first clue was the big spash in the water,(duh). Followed by more circling, (an unsuccessful attempt). This was followed by another unsuccessful attemp. My bird then landed on its original perch and the other two birds took off. The grooming began again. Now I realized that there was a definate purpose. After two unsuccessful attemps the birds feathers were wet and heavy. Necessary maintenance was needed to get the feathers back in shape for future attemps. This grooming drying process went on for about another forty minutes. I could tell that the bird was shifting its thought from drying to hunting as the preening slowed down and the bobbing and looking around became more frequent. Again my bird began to chirp, the second Osprey showed up and the circling began again. After a couple of minutes of circling the water I lost sight of both birds. Suddenly on my right side there was a big spash. I knew immediately that one of the two ospreys had dove. This time when it left the water there was a large fish in its talons. It took off and began looking for a place to land with its kill. It flew in a direction that was out of my line of sight. I thought, that's that. It then appeared like a bat out of hell with a second Osprey hot in pursuit. They looked like two fighter pilots in a dog fight. One avoiding the other's attemps to snatch the valuabl prize. They must have gone around the island twice before the second bird gave up and the winner (my bird) landed back on its original perch. Wait, it gets better. O.K. so my bird has now weathered two unsuccessful attemps, a highway robber and has settled down to enjoy a well earned meal. As the bird begins to eat, the fish begins to flop. My bird nearly loses its balance and almost drops its trophy meal. This happens two or three more times. The bird takes a bite, the fish flops and the bird has to regain its balance. So now my bird takes off one more time to find a more stable branch. My submitted image is the end result. I hope that you have enjoyed my story.