Bay Barn Swallows a Challenge to Capture

Capture on "film" that is. Yes these small birds are really fast as they dart through the sky, skim the water and dive under a dock in their pursuit of bugs to eat.

While photographing the Ospreys seen in my previous post near my parents' house on the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia another feathered friend caught my eye. I had no success trying to focus on one in flight and get its picture.  So then I got smarter and focused on a section of dock where the birds would occasionally fly.

I set my camera to burst mode and started firing away- click, click, click- when a few of the birds looked like they would go under the dock.

Alas, I had some success. I was determined in this effort because I thought this bird with a forked tail may be a first-time "lifer" bird for me.

A Spree of Ospreys

A fun thing about bird and nature photography is the unexpected encounters and opportunities. Such was the case Sunday during a visit to my parents’ house on the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. In the afternoon I walked around the area near the house.

At nearby Crane’s Creek I saw an Osprey nesting platform. It was closer to land than others I had seen.

As I first tried to take some photos, the Osprey flew away, but not far away. It circled around and eventually settled back on the nest. I had walked away, hoping the it would return. Trying to be less visible behind a tree, I was then able to take these photos. It wasn’t until later after transferring the pictures to my iPad that I found what a busy nest Momma Osprey was tending.