Showcasing the beauty of Mother Nature
I was out for my usual Saturday morning walk, when I heard a great amount of commotion out on the water, and I knew even before I looked that the cry was of an eagle. The bald eagle had raided the nest of an osprey and stole one of the chicks, and the mother osprey was out for blood.
As the drama continued in the air, Spencer was getting restless and it was time to carry on with our walk.
After a very stressful week, I was dragging my butt this morning, but I still managed to get out the door for our walk by ten past six. I almost left my camera at home, but decided to bring it along at the last minute – I’m so glad I did. I had a lovely walk with Spencer and fabulous bird sightings as well. I have lots of editing and posting to do over the next few days!
Today was the first time I saw a trumpeter swan along the Pitt River. I’ve not had any success in finding any information online about what the tag signifies, but it is a yellow neck band, marked with M38 as well as a visible band around one leg.
Even though it is a holiday and I didn’t need to get up at the crack of dawn to head to work, I did anyways, so I could head out for an early morning walk with Spencer and hopefully catch a few nice photos of the sunrise or the herons (which I did!). I’d already snapped over 130 photos on our hour walk, so I decided to put my camera away. I’ve beaten myself up before about putting my camera away before getting to the car, and hopefully today will have driven that point through my thick skull!
I don’t know if it was a sound or the movement over the water that caught my attention, but I looked to the right over the river, and heading towards me at top speed was a bald eagle. Thank goodness I took my camera in my sling bag, not my backpack, as I was able to get it out in time, turn it on, and snap a few photos. I am seriously grateful I put my camera into auto ISO mode earlier on the walk (I actually didn’t realize it was possible on M to use auto ISO on this camera – so much still to learn about the new body!) but I’m sure that is what kept me from having a bunch of photos either over or under exposed.
While out walking this morning, two Ospreys flying around over the Pitt River caught my attention. Spencer was gracious enough to wait patiently while I tried to snap a few photos of them. The sequence that follows unfolded in only a minute, though it seemed much longer than that, as I watched one Osprey struggling for its life.
The photos are a bit fuzzy, but I was so much more concerned with taking in what was happening (and rooting for the poor osprey each time it sunk lower into the water and struggled to keep its head up). I’m so glad I got to see a happy ending today.
Along with the Southern Red Bishops, the Weavers kept me entertained and happily snapping away while they went about their business. The amount of bird life was fabulous when we were in Zambia and as well for our day trip into Botswana. Such an amazing variety of bird life, and such extraordinary colours and patterns on the feathers. I can’t want to return!
Last April I was lucky enough to stay at the Royal Chundu Zambezi River Lodge, and just outside of my room there was a fabulous variety of birds to watch. I was fascinated by the red bishop; the male was quite a bully, scaring off any of birds that got too close to his territory. He was always easy to spot amongst the tall grasses with his brilliant red feathers. The females are much more subdued, but still very beautiful. To me they have a lovely, soft face and gentle eyes.
