The Eye of the Needle, Part 2

It had been over an hour since the parent Osprey had brought the needlefish to the nest. I decided to wait and see if there would be another prey delivery. Here is Part 2 of "The Eye of the Needle" and what happened next as I watched the day's activity of the Osprey family of Del Mar.

The young Osprey who was eating the needlefish left the pole and flew over to the San Dieguito River tide channel.He swoops down and flies with his talons skimming the water  but pulling up at the last moment. What a wonderful sight to see. He is practicing his fish hunting skills. Soon, he will have to catch his own fish or starve. Moments before this shot, the youngster has just swooped over a Great Blue Heron in a "show of power" causing the heron to flee. 

The young fledgling lands at the water's edge far down the tide channel west of where I am standing. He stays there for a very long time appearing to be enjoying his surroundings. I keep checking on him to see if he flies off but he remains on the water's edge probably letting his needlefish digest. Suddenly, he is looking intently down the tide channel.

Looking east to see what the young Osprey was looking at, I see an amazing sight. The adult Osprey has caught a huge mullet in the tide channel. He is really working his huge wings trying to get clear of the pickle-weeds. He is heading south straight towards the huge berm separating another tide channel. Notice that in this photo, you can see how the Osprey's coloring can blend in with his surrounding to make him almost invisible!

The Osprey manages to clear the berm and make a wide turn heading back towards the main nest. I am thrilled to see such an amazing sight. The fish is thrashing and the Osprey works his right leg to grab the fish.

Getting a good grip on the thrashing fish, Dad Osprey shows his power to lift and fly with such a big catch.

The Osprey shows his amazing ability handling this fighting fish with no problem and pumps his beautiful huge wings. I click away getting as many shots as I can.

He is picking up speed and height. Look at him work his wings!

He is coming close. He has his sights set on the small telephone pole that he used for his last prey.

Wow, no matter how many times I see an Osprey fly by with a fish, it still takes my breath away!

 

Close-up!

Powerful wings pumping to get the fish to the telephone pole. 

Close-up.

Now he is directly in front and I am getting a wonderful view of the Osprey carrying a huge mullet.

 Perfection!

Close-up look at the classic Osprey "prey carry". Aerodynamically efficient! His talons are like fishing hooks. They secure his prey securely while the padding on his feet has little burrs for better grip. 

The fish still has lots of fight left and he wiggles under the Osprey trying to get loose. 

The Osprey lands on his favorite telephone pole. 

 

The fish has other ideas... it thrashes and tries to get free from the deadly talons. Notice that the Osprey's right talons are gripping the top of the pole and he is leaning forward to offset the weight of the thrashing fish behind him.

The fish thrashes and the Osprey uses his wings to keep his balance as he pulls the fish atop the pole. 

Quite a struggle is going on and the Osprey beats his wings as the fish tries to wiggle off the pole. 

It takes all his strength to hoist this thrashing fish back onto the pole. 

Wow, what a fight! 

 

Now the youngster from the tide channel decides to come back to the nest hoping to grab the fish when dad brings it over.

Beautiful approach by the youngster.

What a fantastic sight to see. Look at our healthy and strong fledglings!

She floats into the nest. What a gorgeous bird. 

One last shot of her wings as she lands.

All three start their calls for food. They will have to wait for a while. Dad looks like he will kill the fish and consume his share of the fish before he brings it back to the nest. But now, it's time for me to head for home. I say my good-bye to the three fledglings wishing them safe trip as they discover their newfound freedom of flight. There is a whole world for them to explore and they will be leaving their nest area very soon. 

As I start for home, I see that dad Osprey is still busy bringing the fighting fish under control. He rips at the gills and soon the fish will lay quiet.

He looks around to make sure no intruder is in his area. Looks like the fish finally tired.

 LOL, maybe the fish still has more fight left in him. But no worries, the Osprey has it all under control. What a fantastic day it has been. Watching the youngsters flying and learning life lessons and getting to see the adult bring back two fish for his youngsters really made this a very special day. Thanks to everyone involved in putting the nest platforms here in the San Dieguito River Park where we all can enjoy the activities of this wonderful Osprey family.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!