I have taken more photos than I have had time to post lately and there are a few I wanted to show you from the last few days.
One of the bonuses of filming an animal in Yellowstone is that my camera and tripod are all set up and running, so if another animal unexpectedly shows up I can sometimes film it as well. This time it was a robin who showed up while we were filming pikas. There is also a pair of robins who have built a nest in a cottonwood tree next to our trailer. It is above eye level but not real high so I hope to have photos of that after the babies hatch. Since it is on private land we are already plotting about where we are going to buy worms to keep them happy.
It is owl time in Mammoth! The pair of great horned owls have 2 babies this year who are getting pretty big and close to fledging. I was able to catch the mail watching for dinner several evenings ago and plan to go back soon.
There is an osprey that lives along the Gardner River between Gardiner and Mammoth that hates me. I have seen it many times and every time I get out of the car to film it, it looks to see when I have my camera and tripod set up and then it flies. The other day I tried again and this time I finally got it eating a whitefish. I don’t know why but many ospreys eat the head first and then fly off with the rest of the fish. That is what this one did but I got a chance to film him for a couple of minutes before he flew. Maybe the curse of the osprey is over.
A lot of big horns live near the osprey but the above male was in the trees near the Yellowstone Picnic Area. I don’t know why we see them a lot early in the spring but the males aren’t around in the summer that much. I guess they go higher.
I know I have talked about Rosie and her 3 yearlings a good bit. Here are some photos from a week or so ago when they were east of the Roosevelt corrals eating grass and getting a drink of water.
Hi Judy,
I live in SW Fla so have the opportunity to photograph birds, birds and more birds.
The Male Osprey usually hunts and eats only the head of the fish when he has a nest of chicks to feed. He eats the most nourishing part, so he can continue to hunt and feed his hungry family. At least, that is what I have observed in watching the mated/nesting parents here in fla. When they don’t have chicks, they will eat the whole fish.
Mary
Hi Mary, Thanks for your comments. The ospreys here do the same as in Florida, they eat the head first. I know this one was a male because it didn’t have that little “necklace” of brown the females have. I have watched them many times eat the head and then take the rest to the chicks. I didn’t say anything about that because there aren’t any chicks yet so I wasn’t sure where he was going.
Those cubs have grown since then! I finally got to see swimming. Love that robin image.
They have grown! It is amazing to see the difference. Got lucky on the robin. It popped up at the pikas along with some dark-eyed juncos and a green-tailed towhee.