Sunday, September 15, 2019

Ospreys on the Tuolumne River

There's kind of a feeling of expectation along the Tuolumne River these last few mornings. The birds have been fewer in number, as the tropical species have started to disappear, and it's still early for many of the Arctic migrants to be appearing (but they're coming). On the other hand, some birds are here year-round, and one of the spectacular ones is the Osprey (Pandion haliaetus). Several of them have been hanging out along the Tuolumne Parkway Trail for the last week or two.
One can understand why they're around...the river is running clear, and it's full of fish, the favorite prey of the Osprey. I haven't had the chance to see one diving into the river yet, but the other evening we were on the bluffs waiting for the Harvest Moon to rise over the bluffs and saw one eating a meal.
Since it didn't fly off, I got a few moments of video as well...

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