After having shot GMOS (Great Maine Osprey Shoot) the two previous years, it was only this year that I realized how tough it can be making a living as an osprey. Come rain or shine, they have to get out there and catch fish in order to survive. In the previous years, I've observed the osprey circling overhead, looking for fish and then diving into the water to snare one or two fish in its talons.
This year, I observed something different, at least in one osprey. It would circle overhead once or twice and then just land and perch on a tree and look for fish from that vantage point. I thought that was odd behavior until I realized that the fish it was catching could not be spotted from the air because of the trees over the area where most of the fish were congregating this year.
Upon spotting its prey, the osprey would dive off the tree branch with eyes locked on its next meal.
The osprey hits the water with a splash and disappears under the water.
A split second later, it surfaces and flies off with its meal in its talons.
So, at this point, you'd think that the osprey's work is done and that it can just fly off someplace where it can enjoy its meal in peace.
But that is not the case. There are free-loading thugs all around, just waiting to snatch away the osprey's catch. In previous years, I've seen sea gulls and bald eagles try to steal an osprey's catch. And this year? I spotted a darn bully of a crow going after the osprey and its catch.
Before I left for GMOS 2007, my office asked me how many times can I go shoot ospreys before I got tired of it. My reply to him was, "As many times as I possibly can in my life time because there is always something new to shoot each and every time."
