Osprey

[MN Shutterbug]

I had got wind of an Osprey nest near the town of Dent. I called the lady that lives on the property that houses the nest and she told me to come on up anytime. I called the nite before I was going to be in the area. On the way the next day, she calls and tells me that for the first time in 10 years, the Ospreys abandoned their nest. Just my luck. However, she guided me to another couple nests in the same vicinity. After I took her back to her house, I came back to the one nest and there were actually 3 there. Unfortunately, it was a gloomy grey day. I should have used my flash, but with limited time I didn't bother. The blue sky bg you see in a few of these, is fake. Anyway, I plan on going back when the weather is more favorable and I can dedicate all my time to the task at hand.

[mmeyer]

Very nice Mike! You did a great job on the "fake" sky also. I don't think I would have noticed.

[Nymph]

Nice shots for the conditions you had. I was over at Carver Park today looking for them and by the time I got there it was raining. There was one coming in to the nest with a fish in its talons when I got there. I didn’t even break out the gear,I just watched them with the binoculars. The pair nesting by the entrance of the nature center looked to have 2 small chicks.

[MN Shutterbug]

I've been told that once the chicks get old enough, the parents start bringing whole fish to the chicks. When they are first hatched, their parents regurgitate for them.

Chanhassen would be quite a bit closer to me than Dent. If the weather clears, I should head there instead.

[bassNspear]

Very Nice Shots. I like the ones flying!

[Steve Foss]

Your fifth shot is the one I like best. The nest isn't on a natural element, and that fifth pic removes the hand of man from the equation and is an excellent BIF image in its own right.

The exception is if you were selling to a rural electrical co-op magazine, because they promote their supposed efforts to attract osprey and eagles to nesting platforms.