Reader Paul Peed sent a series of great osprey photos. His notes are indented:
Raptors at T.M. Goodwin Waterfowl Management Area [Florida]Osprey
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) have made an excellent recovery in Florida since the DDT ban. At T.M. Goodwin Waterfowl Management Area, we are lucky to be able to watch and track Osprey individuals through the seasons.
Over the past year, I have been able to track the bonding and care of one Osprey pair from first sighting through the fledging of one chick.
The nest was positioned in a terrible place for photography but a wonderful location for the pair. All images from 20 or more meters and I left as soon as they noticed me in order to minimize stress on the birds.
The Female
The Male
Hunting
The Nest
A Chick
Time to Fledge
Proud Ospreys Ready for Another Year
I heard that bald eagles specifically steal catch from osprey.
Absolutely true! I live near a large headpond frequented by both and have witnessed this many times. The bald eagles fish too, but apparently the osprey are much better at it so the balds just steal their lunch. They can be real jerks! 😀
I would expect it to be the other way around, since larger birds can scarcely defend themselves against smaller, more nimble birds. But once again nature does not care what I think.
Ospreys are successful on 25% of their attempts which is by far the highest success rate amongst raptors. Watching one hunt is a thrilling experience as long as you don’t cheer for the fish.
Great time series of photos!
Excellent series of photos, thanks!
Wonderful, cover photo quality!
Great photos. Thanks!
That’s a very fine photographic record of the Osprey. What a wonderful bird. The eye makes them look like they’ve had too much coffee, or they think your camera looks like food. 😎
These are fantastic pictures, with very good documentation of these beautiful birds. First rate stuff!
Again, great photos, with a welcome outcome too.
I never noticed that ospreys wear a continually shocked look on their face; the sort of expression one has when viewing “people of Walmart” photos.
You’re right about that expression both re the ospreys and me when I check out the “People of Walmart,” which is such an uncharitable thing to do, but I can’t help myself. No free will when it comes to “People of Walmart.” In fact, thanks for reminding me because I haven’t visited the site in several months and must catch up.
Sorry.
I’m the same way with fail videos. And I always feel ashamed and dirty afterwards, like I need to scrub my conscience clean for wallowing in such dreck.
Well put together set of photos Paul – of which each photo is magnificent! And a worthy, baleful subject!
Wonderful sequence. You must have a high perch to look into the nest.
No perch. I was on an access road at T.M. Goodwin which afforded an overlook of the nest. A 200-500mm lens with teleconverter provided the intimate views. The Ospreys were quite tolerant of relatively close human traffic but a single look from those incredible eyes let you know it was time to move on.
BTW, the Osprey pair have nested and are on egg in the same general area but out of range and in an inaccessible area for photography. Still delightful to watch
Hi Paul. I notice you’re using a Nikon camera. Is this lens the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR? If so, I’m interested in your opinion of it. I’ve been looking for a longer lens for my D800E and been considering this lens. Apparently the VR works amazingly well. Are you able to shoot hand-held with it?
Also, what model of teleconverter do you use with this lens?
Looking forward to more osprey images …
βPer
Hi, Kind of a complicated answer…I weekly recommend the 200-500mm f/5.6 lens. Build quality when I purchased the lens was very uneven. Make sure you deal with a reputable seller like B&H or equivalent. I returned 1 before getting an acceptable lens on second attempt. I understand this is not uncommon although Nikon might have fixed this early production problem. Also the lens by necessity is very heavy so technique and strength are important.
VR works very well on my D750 but my D850 with its high resolution shows every minor flaw. So I use a tripod or monopod. I also have a very elaborate setup for shooting from my car (a Kirk WM-2 Window Mount with a gimbal head). I use a TC-14E III teleconverter in very limited circumstances. Perfect light, absolute need for a little added reach, etc. So unless you already own one I would not recommend a teleconverter. Told you it would be complicated.
Short answer is recommend the lens, teleconverter not recommended. Hope that helps
Thanks, Paul! Very helpful, and not at all complicated.
Thanks for the heads-up about build quality. I’ll be giving the lens a good shake-down at a local camera shop (Henry’s, a national Canadian chain that I consider quite reputable) before committing to it.
I’ve been thinking about this lens after seeing a recent CBC article about a Newfie photographer who captured an amazing shot of a silver fox and a vole. In the article, there’s a picture of the photographer and her camera with this lens, obviously shooting hand-held. That’s why I asked about hand-holding it. In practice, I’d probably try to get away with using a monopod.
I do own a teleconverter, but it’s so old I’d never dare try using it on my 28-300mm lens. I figured you might be using the TC-14E, as it’s the only Nikon one that supports AF (AFAIK). As you say, it’s of limited usefulness, but it’s nice to have on hand for those rare situations.
βPer
Excellent photo-story!
Thank you for this wonderful picture story
Thanks for all the kind comments. Delighted to share my Birding “patch” with you all.
Paul
This is an awesome group. Thanks for sharing photos of these beautiful birds…and chicks.
Great photos!