It was an avian party at Rose Creek this weekend. Hosted by a couple of Little Blue Herons, the invitation list included American Coots, Western Grebes, Cormorants, Snowy Egrets, Mallard ducks, gulls, and a surprise guest visitor who arrived fashionably late after I had packed up my gear.
Little Blue Heron
American Coot
Western Grebe
Cormorant
Snowy Egret
After two hours and 400 photographs, I packed up my gear and headed for home. Following the bike path towards the Mission Bay inlet, a large blur swooshed by towards where I had just been. This was not to be missed. The guest was late arriving, but it would be worth the return trip to capture a photo. Did you guess the surprise visitor who crashed the avian party?
Great Blue Heron
Across the creek sits the first of two Osprey nests that I followed in the series “Project Osprey”. One of the Osprey was home, but my 250mm lens just isn’t long enough to capture a decent image as seen below.
I have a suspicion that it’s the younger of two chicks that hatched this Spring. Dad and the oldest chick left the area months ago. Mom and the youngest stayed behind, but I haven’t seen Mom since early September.
It’s not unusual for a youngster to stay at the nest after it has fledged if a parent remains in the area, and/or if there is an abundant source of food. I suspect it’s the youngest sibling because it was always loud and noisy — you can see it chirping and squawking — and because its eyes have not yet turned the bright yellow color that is common in adult Osprey.
In Pics and Words 