Sequestered indoors for the rain, I’ve been sorting through my photo archives, hoping to cull my duds, once and for all. I came upon my gallery of Osprey shots … taken this summer as I checked in occasionally with a local nesting couple. These two never did not appear to produce any young, but there were long spans when I didn’t visit, so it’s possible. I hope to see them together again next year as the cycle begins anew in this cell phone tower. Fly safely, my Osprey friends! And stay away from those Central American fish farms (please).

All of these images were shot, using my car as a blind, at a 600mm-equivalent distance and then cropped. The nest is above a populated parking lot, a busy intersection, and also a car dealership, so the Osprey are habituated to human presence. Even so, I’m cognizant of the importance of not bothering birds at nesting areas, and generally do not photograph at nests. In this case, I parked alongside other cars in the lot, and photographed from my window — extremely careful about not intruding or staying too long.