Osprey Watch 06-19-2025

June 19 – Adventure

Every day holds an adventure, but the most memorable are those that catch you by surprise.

At 5:18 p.m., I happened to pass by the cell phone tower and saw an osprey heading toward it. I noticed it from a far distance while driving. I immediately drove—within the speed limit—to the tower. The osprey circled several times and even flew to the other side of the street for a while. I was lucky enough to catch it landing on the tower (see images). It took about nine minutes for the osprey to decide to land. I didn’t stay long, though, and continued with my plan to go to the lake. I had the boat in the water by around 6:00 p.m.

I headed to the sunny side and paddled around areas that are usually inaccessible, but due to flooding, were now reachable. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any birds at first, though I heard many singing. I continued south and was lucky to spot an osprey hunting for fish. After three attempts—one of which resulted in a spectacular splash—it succeeded (see image).

Even more luckily, the osprey perched in a nearby tree, allowing me to observe it eating on a branch. Once finished, it flew off to the south. I originally hoped to find great blue herons, and although I was disappointed they weren’t in their usual spots—likely due to the flooding—I finally found one in the trees. The lighting was beautiful, with a play of sun and shadow through the branches. In total, I saw four great blue herons. I also spotted a red-bellied woodpecker, although it refused to face me. Feeling like it might be my lucky day, I wondered if I might also see an eagle. After passing some fishermen who said they hadn’t seen one, I continued further south. Fortunately, I caught a glimpse of a large bird flying into a tree to perch. As I paddled closer, I was stunned—it was a beautiful bald eagle. I attached my 2x extender to the camera, giving me 1600mm of zoom, and observed the eagle from a distance.

The eagle was calm, grooming and surveying the surroundings. Whenever the wind drifted me too close, I paddled back to a safe distance. A large pontoon boat nearby had to move as it drifted too close to shore. A woman aboard was disappointed and concerned that their engine might disturb the eagle. As the eagle looked toward their boat, I captured some great shots of it gazing straight at us. After that, the eagle relaxed again, and I continued observing for a while longer. Wanting to avoid being out after dark, I eventually headed back.

On my way home, I passed by the cell phone tower again around 9:00 p.m. and decided to do a final observation. I found one osprey in the nest. Just three minutes later, the second osprey arrived and landed on the tower. Upon reviewing my images, it didn’t appear to bring nesting material or food. Then I observed something new: after four minutes in the nest, the second osprey flew off to the south but surprisingly circled back and landed halfway down the tower at the platform for the stabilization wires. The osprey in the nest began calling loudly—possibly out of anger or disappointment. The second osprey remained perched halfway up the tower for about five minutes before flying south at 9:12 p.m. The remaining osprey moved higher in the nest as it began to get darker. I ended my observation at 9:30 p.m., with just one osprey remaining in the nest.

This was truly a fun and memorable day!