Is this what I think it is...?

[wooly]

If it is..., it's the first I've ever seen here, or at least noticed and gotten a pic of and I'm determined to get better shots.

 

Coming back from the fields photographing deer tonight when I found this guy at the pond.

Now I have a legitimate reason to hide in the bushes there! (inside joke a few here will get)

 

It was pretty dark when I left the fields so I had all my settings cranked pretty high allowing me to pull these off but they are cropped tight and pretty grainy. By the time I spotted this guy all I could really see was a silhouette in the sky and did the best I could to lift some detail out of them in post.

 

So..... is it an osprey or another raptor I'm unfamiliar with?

I've said it before and I'll say it again.... I' not very good with bird ID's, but I think that's what it is.. but I could be wrong, that's why I ask.

 

 

 

 

 

[ncountry]

Yeap.. Pretty sure you nailed it.. We are seeing

 

osprey #s and their huge nests rebound in the local area.

[Pygmy]

Osprey, beyond a shadow of a doubt..

 

I see them on a daily basis here in the Canisteo Valley..

 

Just the other day I saw one carrying a pretty big fish, perhaps 2 or 3 pounds..

 

He had it turned head on( fish pointing the same way he was flying) to reduce air resistance..

[Lawdwaz]

Heck if I know what it is but am looking forward to more pics from your hiding place. 

 

 

[wooly]

Awesome!

Thanks guys!

I can check another off the life list of birds now.

[Pygmy]

Next you'll have to send us a picture of one of those double breasted, split tailed mattress thrashers..

[wooly]

Heck if I know what it is but am looking forward to more pics from your hiding place. 

 

I'm gonna turn you into a birdwatcher yet,lol

[wooly]

Next you'll have to send us a picture of one of those double breasted, split tailed mattress thrashers..

 

Never seen one of those before.

I hear it's bad luck to see one of them on your property you have permission to hunt.

[fasteddie]

Looks like an Osprey

 

 

[First-light]

We have a lot of them on Long Island. The counties put up poles that make great nesting areas. This time of year you can watch the parents bringing in food for the young ones. It is really cool. Wooly it's time to cut off all the branches of a giant pine and put a platform up top for a nesting area. Rig up a 24 hr cam and stream it right here! 

[greg54]

Beautiful pics.

[growalot]

I would have said Goshawk...they are about the same size and coloration but Ospreyq are mainly fish eaters where Goshawks hunt mainly in the woods ans surrounding fields...but the beak looks osprey.

Edited August 13, 2015 by growalot

[wooly]

Thanks all for the confirmation.

I've seen some amazing shots of these birds fishing on some photog sites I visit that have always made me jealous I'd never even seen one before so I was pretty excited to notice what I thought it might be.

My neighbor told me last year he was finding some fish heads laying around, but he thought it was a mink getting them.

He has a lot of bluegill, perch, and some pretty good size catfish in there that he feeds floating fish pellets to, so they would be easy pickin' for this guy on the surface.

[Curmudgeon]

Good shots Wooly. Osprey are weird. They nest in fairly high densities in some parts of the state. In other parts - where there are good nesting sites and plenty of food - there are few or none. My area for example - Chenango, Otsego, Delaware - has very few Osprey but many Bald Eagles nesting. The balds are eating a lot of warm water fish which would also be easy pickings for Osprey. I was at an eagle banding next to Otsego Lake a month or so ago. Even though it is a cold water lake, there are warm water areas. The adult eagles were feeding mostly chain pickerel. One was carrying one around but the nest was full of heads. Warm water fish like bass and bluegills are easy for eagles and osprey to catch. I've been told that at Montezuma, the eagles eat a lot of carp.

 

I get Osprey at my largest farm pond during migration. Sometimes I will find a fish head in a hedgerow.

[wooly]

I'm not sure the last time this was updated by DEC, but under the heading "Management and Research Needs" I found interesting.

Actually, It made me feel pretty fortunate to have this encounter here on private land in WNY given the number of transplants.

 

http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7088.html