Dinner Lost

time to fish for dinner

The osprey (Pandion haliaetus) is a bird of prey from the family of osprey (Pandionidae)

 

There are lots of Osprey nests out in the water on Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee.  On this visit, we were out on the water and enjoying this view of the Osprey in their nest.  The babies were able to fly and even do a little fishing for themselves but still were spending a lot of time in their nest letting mom and dad take care of them. They especially looked forward to dinner time....


 This nest was in a cypress tree which is the main type of trees at Reelfoot.  They line the lake but you will also see them scattered out in this shallow lake. It averages only 4 or 5 feet deep. This nest had 3 babies and the mom was standing guard.




 

We were in a boat so trying to get fairly close to the nest with out getting too close that we would scare them away The dad was trying to bring a fish in and he wasn't sure he liked us this near by.  He would fly in and then circle back out and then fly in a again. You could see the fish flopping around in his claws. 


Incoming

Finally he decided he would take a chance and bring the fish on into the nest.  The chicks were so excited.  Food was coming.  They were chirping away in excitement.  The fish was in view and it was still alive and flopping around in their dad's talons.








almost time

The closer he got the more excited the chicks became.  Almost time!!! Hurray for Dad! The fish is right there, they could already taste it....





Dinner time

Finally Dad was in the nest and so was the fish - lets eat dinner!  But oh no, the fish flopped right out of the nest and it got caught on the edge far enough away that the osprey could not reach it or even see it.  So so close and now DINNER LOST.....





Every morning and evening I would go out in my kayak and capture the sunrises and sunsets.  This sunrise I captured the silhouette of the osprey in his nest - so fun!!

There will be more images to come from my Fabulous Trip to Reelfoot Lake!!