a bird and a fish

[kja]

First time out shooting the ospreys...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v230/alcina/land%20and%20stuff/ospreydadfish1d.jpg
Canon 20D, Canon 100-300 @ 300mm, 1/400, f11, ISO 400

I'm not used to such a heavy lens and I was hand holding. I had to up the ISO to get a high enough shutter and small enough aperture for some "cheat" room as the wind was almost knocking me off the pile of gravel I was standing on!

[MikeI]

Sweet shot. That fish looks waaaay too big for an osprey to eat. Maybe it just looks big.

I recenltly read that their talons are so efficient, the have a hard time letting go. If they catch a fish that is too big, they may end up drowning in the water because they can't fly off with it. Not sure if there is any truth to that, but I read it on a raptor information page.

[Rubberhead]

The fish looks like a sheepshead. I'm guessing you were near saltwater?

[kja]

Thanks, Mikel, I appreciate the feedback!

It's a pretty big fish skeleton. Our best guess is that he nabbed it from the nearby fish cleaning station and not from the ocean.

Yes, we are right be the ocean. This nest is actually on a very tall pole just north of the parking lot of one of our main boat ramps so it's pretty accessible. There are currently two parents and two babies, but my poor ol' 100-300 just doesn't have enough reach to get anything particularly good of the babies - they're very tiny in the frame LOL

[Cooper911]

Nice capture.

[Stefan A]

That's one of the coolest shots I have seen. Great find!

Stefan

[kja]

Thank you :)