This Osprey seemed stiff and less confident of her agility immediately after being relieved from many hours of nesting duty.
1/2000, f/5, ISO 800, Canon 7D, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM, 2 wires removed, not baited, set up or called in
This female (darker necklace and larger size than the male) and her mate were incubating eggs on a nest platform at Flaming Gorge, Utah in May of 2013. She had just left the nest (seen out of focus at lower right) after being relieved by the male after a long, cold night on the eggs and she was obviously warming herself in the very early sunlight.
A few moments later she decided to turn on the post to present her darker dorsal feathers (which absorb heat better) to the sun but she was apparently a little “stove up” from all that immobility in the cold so she used her wings for stabilization as she turned and I enjoyed some of the images of the process.
1/2000, f/5, ISO 800, Canon 7D, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM, 2 wires removed, not baited, set up or called in
Like all well-performed pirouettes this one (at least in the beginning) was done on one foot.
1/2000, f/5, ISO 800, Canon 7D, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM, 2 wires removed, not baited, set up or called in
She wasn’t really spinning as she turned but instead was very carefully going from one foot to another as she spread her wings for balance in the very warm light.
1/2000, f/5, ISO 800, Canon 7D, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM, 2 wires removed, not baited, set up or called in
She seemed very cognizant of how far down it was if she should slip.
1/2000, f/5, ISO 800, Canon 7D, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM, 2 wires removed, not baited, set up or called in
Her wings weren’t moving very fast, just fast enough to provide some additional stability…
1/2000, f/5, ISO 800, Canon 7D, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM, 2 wires removed, not baited, set up or called in
during the precarious maneuver.
1/800, f/4, ISO 800, Canon 7D, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM, 2 wires removed, not baited, set up or called in
Just as she began a wing stretch to limber up a little, the sun went behind a cloud and shaded the mountain in the background which really had a dramatic effect back there when compared to the previous images. Soon after she took off to do a little fishing in “The Gorge”.
In hindsight I wish I’d been at ISO 640 instead of 800 because there’s a little noise in the background of these images and I think I’d have still had enough shutter speed for this kind of activity at 640 but I was set up for take-off shots and the Osprey had failed to inform me of her intentions.
Still, I like some of these poses and found the behavior interesting.
Ron
Anyone else think the first maneuvering pose looks like Ralph Macchio in “The Karate Kid”? 🙂
Excellent pictures as always!
Osprey are so very clumsy, except in the air. Adding in her stiffness from incubation and I’m not surprised it took her a bit to negotiate that turn!
Lovely. Maybe she was doing bird yoga preparing for her Mom’s Day Off. 😀
“Mom’s Day Off” isn’t a very long one, Arwen. The female does the bulk of the incubating so she spent a lot of time on that nest!
What wonderful shots and observations Ron!
Charlotte
Thank you, Charlotte.
Never mind about the presentation. When I posted my comment it got back to normal.
This poor bird must have been in bad shape after her stint on the nest. It surprises me that she would need so much wing action to make a simple turn.
Your blog is presenting very strangely today, minus the usual page header and side bar. Don’t know if it’s my computer or if something unusual is going on, but I thought you’d like to know.
Thanks for your second comment explaining that it went back to normal, Susan. I was out shooting when I got the first comment email and it worried me for a bit. That said, I always appreciate hearing about any blog “hiccups” because I may not always see them on my end and I do want to know about them.
Ron, I know how much it disturbs you to know something isn’t working right, and I could not in good conscience see the changes and not let you know about them.
Ron, thanks. So much better than any people ballet I have seen. Of course I am prejudiced towards wild animals.
I’m not much of a fan of “people ballet” either, Diana. Thank you.