Osprey Attack

The trailing male is the dominant bird of the 4 nesting pairs on Government Cove. The bird in front had feigned an attack on the successful male's nest hoping it would drop its big bullhead. No! It held on and punished the intruder!

Osprey Attack

This was the look the intruding male gave the female Osprey and chick in a nest that was not his. He was not successful in luring the well-fed dominant male Osprey to drop its fish.

Osprey with Chick

This female stayed on her nest for the entire 10 hours I had it staked out.

Incoming Male Osprey

This was another look the intruder gave the female on the nest!

Osprey Delivery

This skillful male delivered fish after fish to his hungry chick and female.

Osprey Feeding Chick

The female is carefully feeding her prized offspring.

Osprey Keeping the Nest Clean

Osprey are capable of doing this within the first days of their lives. They do not foul their own nest with their feces.

Osprey Plunging for Bullhead

The skilled male went completely underwater to grab a Yellow Bullhead Catfish from the Columbia River inlet.

Osprey Lifting Bullhead

This totally submerged Osprey surfaced and lofted this heavy catch into the air

Osprey with Bullhead

It began to turn into the wind to help loft the catch.

Osprey Heading to Nest

And up he came toward the nest with his catch!

Osprey Lifting Bullhead

Ever closer to his waiting chick and female.

Osprey with Prey Flyby

It banked in front of me showing off its prize.

Morning Dog Shake

This Osprey was backlit and I just happened to be shooting 10 frames per second when it decided to throw off the heavy water in its plumage.

Intruder Punishment

This intruding Osprey male lofted a fish in the territory of the dominant male watching over it. A chase ensued.

And the Drop

The dominant male forced the intruder to put the fish back into his territory for him to catch later. Intimidation worked!

My First View

This female Osprey was sitting tight on her nest the morning I arrived. She had a newly hatched chick and was careful to be present for hours.

Sunfish Delivery

The male provider delivered a Sunfish to his hungry female and chick.

A Closer Look

Here you can see the details of the gorgeous Sunfish delivered by the male Osprey.

Hungry Male on Watch

This male was hungry, but it delayed fishing for nearly 3 hours in the presence of a Bald Eagle. Eagles know Osprey are better at fishing, and they lurk to steal their catch. This guy knew better than to expose his chick and female by delivering a fish with an Eagle nearby.

Again Feigning Attacks

This male came in repeatedly to the dominant male's nest trying to get him to drop a fish and come to the rescue.

Osprey Success

I returned a week and a half later to focus on getting closer. Here was the money shot for me today as I tried setting my tripod and camera where I predicted the best fishing to be. When the male plunged close to me I was ecstatic! Seeing this picture come up on my iMac screen was breathtaking.