Believe it or not, I have been quite restrained when selecting pictures for this post. I have more images of this beautiful Osprey but have held back a few. Enjoy the pictures and then see the story below...
I had gone to Utah Lake State Park to visit a farmers market, with no expectation that I would see anything remarkable given the noise from the PA system and the large number of people that were around. The market itself was a disappointment and had I not been waiting for other family members to arrive I would most likely have left pretty quickly without even venturing to the waterfront. However, I did have to wait and I was so glad because I was treated to a wonderful display as this majestic Osprey was flying over the marina and even fishing alongside pleasure boats allowing me the opportunity to get a few decent shots.
I have only seen an Osprey once before in the UK and even then it was at a distance due to restrictions around the nest site (and although last year one did land on the beach close to where I live, I only heard about that after it had moved on). So, I was very excited to see this one up close and seemingly unperturbed by the large gathering of people. It made a few passes before flying off to find another fishing spot and perhaps to get away from the pesky Kingbird that was harassing it.
These images were shot on my Canon 5D mk4 with Canon 100-400mm F4.5 - 5.6L IS ii USM plus 1.4x iii converter. The shutter speed was 1250/s and I think I should have used a faster speed for crisper images. I'll know for next time...
