At the edge of the parking lot at the Wareham High School (where Joan works) there is a nesting pole and osprey nest.
Joan and I spent a couple of Saturday evenings down there watching the birds early in the season (around the first of May) and I got some nice shots including this one from our first visit:
[singlepic id=109 w=300]
I also posted a few more shots, and an interesting story, from our second visit on the HDP blog.
We decided to go back again last Saturday (19 June 2010) evening as Joan had seen an osprey in the area earlier in the week.
We headed down relatively early (given that sunset was not until 8:25), had clam plates at Kool Kone on Route 6 and were in place at the WHS parking lot finishing up our ice cream by 6:15. There was a Wareham Gatemen (Cape Cod League) game beginning on the WHS diamond at 6:30 so we were entertained by the PA announcements as we waited for osprey.
And wait we did… we were there for about an hour and saw no sign of osprey… neither adults nor chicks in the nest. Either the chicks have already fledged (but I think it is too early for that) or the pair we saw nesting back in May did not produce chicks this year.
Since there was not a lot of bird action, we were able to get some “technical” shots.
Here is how one goes about getting a good angle on a nest at the top of a tall pole:
[singlepic id=106 w=300] (Photo by Joan.)
And here is the view that the camera was pointed at:
[singlepic id=107 w=300]
As you can see I could have actually gotten the truck much closer to the pole (and nest) but setting up some distance back (and using the long lens) allows for a more desirable “looking across” view rather than a “looking up” view
After about an hour of watching and waiting we made the decision to go look for access to another nest we had seen from Route 25 and heard about from one of the locals, instead of going to the baseball game. Thus we had a nice drive around many of the back roads of Wareham and Buzzards Bay and no success in locating the second site before we headed home as the sun set.
Skunked, on all fronts, by the osprey of Wareham… such is the life of a wildlife photographer!
Update: Adding insult to injury… when Joan arrived at work early Monday morning, there were two adult osprey sitting on the nest!
I guess you are “human” after all. You had ample time to do the belly down pose for Joan to capture and share with the rest of us. She’s probably waiting for you to be in about six inches of water.
Comment by Just Joe — 22 June 2010 @ 4:20 PM
Thanks for a good reason for me to buy a new Toyota Pickup! I need more height for those osprey shots!
K
Comment by Kevin — 22 June 2010 @ 9:53 PM
You could get some interesting shots if Joan drove the truck while you were set up! New meaning for ‘designated driver’!
Comment by Dana — 23 June 2010 @ 6:35 AM
@Kevin… glad to help with the rationale needed for a new toy… oops, I mean tool!
@Dana… I’m not sure that your idea would work, at least with Joan at the wheel. She would drive around looking for low hanging tree branches rather than for opportunities to make photographs!!!!!
Comment by Frank — 23 June 2010 @ 8:21 AM