Ospreys Nesting

Ospreys Nesting

I posted a photo of this family on April 26, if you want to see how much they've grown. I believe the one on the left is one of the chicks and the parents are in the middle and on the right. They only thing that leads me to believe that this is the chick is the one on the left has yellow eyes, while the other two have orange eyes. In the other post, there were 2 chicks and they were both still fuzzy at the time. Now this chick is nearly the same size as his/her parents. I have no idea where the other one is, maybe it's fledged???

Ospreys (Pandion halliaetus) are raptors in the Hawk and Eagle family. They are rather large birds with a wing span of 5ft, 6in and they are 23 inches in length from tail to head. The dark line through their eye is a  good identifying factor. They hover just before they dive for a fish and can be seen flying with the fish head first in their talons, once they catch their fish.

They are resident year long in Florida and can be found near any body of water where they can fish for food. Their diet consists almost exclusively of fish.

Red-shouldered Hawk

Red-shouldered Hawk

My favorite nature park used to be Boyd Hill Nature Park in St Petersburg, FL. I haven't been there in 14 years. I had moved further away, and I guess I just forgot about it. Now that I've moved closer again to the park, I decided to give it another visit late this afternoon.

This is one of my favorite shots from today's shoot. This guy is a Red-Shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus). They are plentiful in this area, but not nearly as plentiful as Ospreys. Ospreys are everywhere. Red-shouldered Hawks are medium sized hawks. They are called Red-shouldered because of that reddish patch on their shoulders.

These hawks eat mice, frogs and snakes, so can be seen in woods with tall timbers and water. They hunt both from the air and from high perches. They can be found in the Southeast year round.

Red-shouldered Hawk

As promised, here is the photo of the Red-shouldered Hawk. I like the way he seems to be looking down his nose (beak) at me, like he's so superior.

I would've missed him if someone on the trail didn't point him out to me. He was right at eye level sitting on this branch. That's a place we never think to look for birds, since they're usually overhead.

With the way I love to take photos of birds, I have a hard time splitting my view between up in the trees and down on the ground. This guy was easy. I can't believe he just stayed there and let me make all the photos I wanted. He didn't seem afraid or bothered at all.

He sure is a beauty.