Fishy dancing.

I took the dogs for a nice long walk this afternoon along the Frenchman's Bar Trail and around some of the park trails too.  On our walk back along Lower River Road I heard a sound that I thought was some cracked out Killdeer.  Eventually I realized it was an Osprey making the sound, and he wasn't just being vocal- he was putting on a real show...

First he would hover:


Then he would swoop up and then down in a grand display, calling the whole time, and holding a fish in his talons...



According to opsreyworld.com, this is a courtship dance that would hopefully result in the pair doin the nasty.  But weirdly I could not see another Osprey anywhere nearby.  There was a nest not too far away but it appeared vacant during the display.  The male ended his dancing when both a hawk and an eagle flew by (in different directions) and he flew off towards Vancouver Lake.  Shouldn't the Osprey already be knocked up or with babies by now?  Regardless, it was awesome... Here's a few more shots...




Hope he got lucky!  Good times!

Comments

  1. This is awesome. I would feel this exuberant too if I caught a fish with my feet. Kudos to the Osprey for making every time seem as special as the first time.

    Dynamite shots Jen.

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    1. Seriously, I cannot remember the last time a guy caught a fish for me with his feet and then danced in the sky for me... Osprey really know how to treat a lady.

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  2. HI Jen, what a cool sighting. Must have been neat to watch the show. Did not seem to be very shy either. Great captures.

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  3. That is quite interesting....there are 5 active Osprey nests within a 1/2 mile of my house on my street. I watch them every day when I walk my dog and I've never seen these rock star moves before(maybe its a west coast thing, haha!) Anyway, all the nests here have chicks that are just starting to fledge or will be soon.

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  4. OH yeah...amor is in the air eh? I hope they do make more ospreys, cant ever have too many right? Wonderful photos...

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