Ospreys And More

Since the discovery of the White-winged Scoter, I've been going to Sekinoe beach much more often. However, the bird never came any closer to the shore, so I've still got zero better photo of it. While walking around the area, I spent my time photographing a small group of Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) that were feeding in the harbour. I believe there were more than 3 different individuals. They came to the small harbour nearby to catch small fish at low tides along with a pair of Black-eared Kites and a small Common Kingfisher. I could get lots of their flight shots at close range as I was hiding behind a bush. Sometimes they even came too close for me to fit into the frame. Photographing birds in flight can surely be fun!

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)

Most of the catches were successful and I guessed that's why they liked to stay around in the area. There must be a very good number of fish near the harbour at low tides, when they become very easy to see from the sky. However, I still haven't managed to get a decent series of diving shots of the bird. It's always exciting and fun watching them stooping down into the sea and come flying up with a fish in their talons. Once they caught something, they always flew away really far. I just wished that they'd perch and eat the prey somewhere near, so I can also take photos of them while perching as well...

Male Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)

Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus)

Not only big birds like Ospreys and Black-eared Kites that were taking advantages of the abundance of fish at low tides, a single male Common Kingfisher was hanging around in the area as well. But as any Common Kingfishers around here, it was wary and didn't let me get close to it. The above Great Crested Grebe was from the Spa Beach in front of my dorm. You can see that it was already moulting into a breeding plumage. This year doesn't seem to be good for this species, and this individual always stayed far in the sea as well. To finish this entry, below is a sequence of shots of an Osprey catching a fish. This was the best I could get, but the light was awful. It'd have been much better, if there were a little bit of sunshine.