"SERIOUSLY OR CIRRUSLY"

Osprey - 9 Photos

"Seriously" is, of course an actual word but "cirrusly" probably is not.

However, cirrus clouds are an actual phenomenon. They are high altitude and delicate clouds that can be an indication of a change in the weather, such as an approaching warm front in this case.

And that is why in the photos that follow, the sky changes from blue to a blue/white mix back to blue, as the wispy clouds passed through.

But seriously, one couldn't ask for more - a dramatic changing background as the clouds gently blew across, a gorgeous osprey who had perched on a striking dead tree (including a small hole through the trunk) and a freshly caught fish, which I did not notice initially.

The osprey had only just landed and I settled in to photograph. There was some panting (Photo #1) which I believed was due to the warm temperatures & the osprey's exertion. For at least the first fifteen minutes, the osprey just perched & looked up and around, which I assumed was to ensure there were no predators in the area (Photo #2 through Photo #6).  

There was some scratching & grooming for approximately another fifteen minutes (Photo #7). And then the osprey "pulled the rabbit out of the hat" or in this case, a headless fish from behind which must have been resting on a part of the tree behind the osprey (Photo #8). Having reviewed the photos during the developing process, I realized that the fin of the fish can be just seen previously just to the right of the osprey's left foot.

So what I thought was an osprey just having a "time out" was, in fact, an osprey who had probably caught a fish, perhaps had gotten interrupted in feasting, and flew to a more secure location. Then checked out to make sure all was safe before finishing the meal.

Then there was the wing stretch before leaving (Photo #9).

PHOTO #1

PHOTO #2

PHOTO #3

PHOTO #4

PHOTO #5

PHOTO #6

PHOTO #7

PHOTO #8

PHOTO #9