February Is Here Already

It just seems impossible February is already here. But it means we are another month closer to Spring and the return of our osprey mid-March! This past week’s activity around and on our osprey nest provided some great shots to share with you. Last Sunday at low tide, I watched a couple of Buffleheads and tried to capture shots of them diving. Here’s an interesting quick sequence of one going down to feed, with a later shot of a water shake-off & stretch!

That same day a raft of Lesser Scaups were out beyond the nest. One made a decision to take flight, followed by the rest….

When the sun popped out from the clouds just before sunset, it shined nicely on this male mallard as he rested alongside the berm.

My next photos are from last Tuesday just before sunset. At the base of our nest, we had Canadian geese munching on our grass while a raft of canvasbacks were just beyond, peacefully bobbing along. And, of course, we have a goose looker on our sidewalk!

Finally, Wednesday I was lucky to capture a sub-adult bald eagle visiting our nest. He appears to be approximately 3 to 4 years old. Young bald eagles are blotchy and do not obtain their distinctive white head and tail with dark brown body until the age of 5. Eagles can live as long as 30 years in the wild but average about 15 years.