http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/823384
Hope I copied the link right.
What a wonderful series of photos! I wish I could take such a series of clear. crisp shots, each one a masterpiece in its own right! I just love the look of slight embarrassment as he comes up empty taloned.
Smiles, Jan.
Have just found these having been away and not noticing before I went. Thanks bjane they are simply amazing, some of the best photos I have ever seen.
Margobird
Can anyone suggest what's gone wrong in this sequence, taken at Rothiemurchus fishery. The osprey comes close to drowning, and has to be ignominiously rescued by a guy with a lawn rake.
http://www.davidshawwildlife.co.uk/photography/ukGallery/rothie%20rescue/gallery.htm
Thank you bjane, they are the best pictures I have seen like this.
Libby :o)
Ok Sue, I will have a go;( a) Osprey caught fish too big for it to lift out of water but unable to detach it's talons.
( b) Osprey caught in fishing line.
(c) Some years ago there was a giant pike, which was taking ducks from surface of lake. Has another pike now found ospreys?
No more ideas. Do you know the answer?
Brenda - no, I don't know the answer, but I've heard that (a) can happen.
Unknown said: Can anyone suggest what's gone wrong in this sequence, taken at Rothiemurchus fishery. The osprey comes close to drowning, and has to be ignominiously rescued by a guy with a lawn rake. http://www.davidshawwildlife.co.uk/photography/ukGallery/rothie%20rescue/gallery.htm
SueC, what an extraordinary sequence of shots this is!!! I'd hazard a guess that the osprey spotted an eel, went deep to get it, and the eel did not come easily. It probably latched onto something like a root on the riverbed, and then tried to free itself from the osprey, throwing it head down in the water. By the time the osprey had given up on taking the eel and managed to free itself, it had been in the water too long, and was too exhausted to lift itself out of the water with now water-soaked feathers. Thank heavens there was someone responsible in the right place at the right time to help him!
Unknown said: Brenda - no, I don't know the answer, but I've heard that (a) can happen.
Before this year I wouldn't have believed that an osprey could endanger itself by grabbing too big a fish and then not being able to let go. However, having seen Odin struggle many times to rid himself of a fish when delivering it to the nest I think this is the most likely answer.
There was no evidence of fishing nests that I could see. Either way, it is true that an osprey will soon become waterlogged if it doesn't clear the water quickly and I have no doubt that the prompt action taken saved its life.
These are just amazing pictures. Makes you realise what can happen when the fishing goes wrong. Thank heavens he was rescued and set free.
Hear, hear, Margobird - I'm so relieved that someone was there who had the sense to know what to do, or I'm sure that bird would have been in a great deal of trouble. Great pics, Sue!