Focus! If you’ve never seen an osprey fish, it is hard to appreciate the absolutely relentlessness, grace, aggression and power with which they do it. Plunging from on high, sometimes hitting up to 80 mph during the dive, just as they are about to hit the water they fold back their wings, extend their talons and in an instant catch their prey.

To capture that action at the penultimate moment is an extreme challenge for a photographer as it happens so very fast. I’ve shot thousands upon thousands of images of these awesome birds of prey and you could count on one hand the number of times I ‘got the shot.’

This one, taken this past Sunday, is probably the best of the few and one which I am immensely proud of. It definitely made for a fantastic way to cap off our first camping trip of the season.

Well, judging by the look on this handsome fellow’s face and those sharp talons, you shouldn’t dare enter. 😉  Kind of a fun capture as this raptor opted to perch on a sign around a little pond near its nest recently.

These summertime visitors to Colorado won’t be around too much longer. Once temperatures start to cool, that will be their sign to head south for the coming winter.

Well, okay, I get the hint! While I was quite a ways from this pretty lady’s home Saturday, she clearly did not appreciate the Peeping Tony photographer. 😉 

Keeping my distance and watching the nest through my lens, I was trying to see the status of her little ones (there is at least one). The female was returning from a quick flight and as she came by, I got quite the look. Those piercing eyes were awesome and contrast so well with the plumage of the bird.

“Hang on, Joe, this is the fun part!” Well, I don’t imagine it was truly much fun for this trout and the look on its face seems to reflect that. 😀 

Just a fun shot of one of these summertime visitors to Colorado that always provide a bunch of action and fun shots. The osprey had just dived and snagged this poor fish out of the water and was heading off to enjoy it for breakfast.

Yeah, if you are the fish immediately below this, you are about to have a really, really bad day. 😀 

This past weekend I spent some time photographing these awesome raptors as they patrolled and fished a few ponds. Overall, the fishing action was kind of light but I was able to capture one entire sequence of an osprey as it made its dive and catch. This image is the final one before the bird hits the water and snags an unsuspecting fish. With those wings back and the talons extended, an osprey can reach speeds up to 70mph right before hitting the water!

Right on time. I spotted my first osprey of the season last week but didn’t come away with any worthwhile captures. This weekend, I had much better luck as more returned to the Centennial State and the residents of one of my favorite nest stands arrived.

The pair was quite busy getting things ready for nesting season. Well, the male was busy, as he did quite a bit of work while the female pretty much just stood around and supervised. 😉 In between deliveries of sticks to add to the home, there was time for some “recreation” as the pair began working on making those babies.

Gee, what a wonderful gesture by this beautiful hawk. 😉  Okay, I admit the osprey wasn’t really playing taxi and only cared about ensuring its talons maintained a firm grip on its breakfast.

Last weekend I spent some time in northern Colorado hoping to get a bit more quality time with these summertime visitors before they headed south for the winter. This was, unfortunately the only osprey to make an appearance but at least it gave me some nice shots as it flew by.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

A month or so ago I shared an image of an osprey making one of their infamous dives into the water for fish. This is the next image in the series and is equally as compelling.

Here you get the full effect of how the osprey folds its wings back just before entering the water, maximizing its speed as it prepares to strike a poor, unsuspecting fish from above.

You will notice the talons are milliseconds away from entry and that the bird has closed its nictitating membrane – its inner eyelid – in preparation of hitting the water. An incredible predator showcasing its amazing ability. 

Yes, yes, yes! I intimated a couple days ago that I got a photo this past weekend that I had been wanting for years and this is it.

I have taken thousands of pictures of these fantastic raptors but never have I gotten what I considered a good picture of one diving toward the water to catch a fish. Bad angles, backlighting, poor focus and so many other things have made the image very elusive. Throw in the fact that when osprey dive they can hit from 30 to 50 miles per hour and it is a very tough shot to get.

Well, Sunday I finally did it.

A dive earlier in the morning came close but backlighting ruined it. When this osprey started to hunt, I moved myself to a better position putting the sun at the side. Thankfully, I was able to keep up as it plunged into the water, wings back, talons first, ready to snag some unsuspecting fish. Unfortunately for the osprey, it missed on this strike but its