Osprey

Osprey at Huntley Meadows park on May 24, 2023. This photo has both a funny and disappointing backstory. Several photographers were on the far boardwalk watching this Osprey at the top of a dead tree, one of the favorite trees of perching birds of prey here. It was sitting up there for some time, not giving any indication it was going to fly off or down anytime soon. I grabbed my mini-tripod and set it up on the boardwalk to record video of it. No sooner did I attach my camera, the Osprey decided it was time for a meal. What felt like slow-motion of it zipping down into the water not 15 feet off the boardwalk, I had no time to react to it. It came up with a fish and started its descent out of the water. Meanwhile, I've gotten my camera up but I had no feedback through the viewfinder - it was still set to video mode using the rear screen! I fumbled around trying to get it turned off and I managed to get a few shots of it flying across the pond. Surprisingly I was not the only person who missed it. Some people were too close and others were also unprepared for how fast it happened. There were some jokes about missing the shot and that no one wanted the dive shot anyways.

The day after this trip, I received my new toy - the recently released mirrorless camera, the Nikon Z8. It is leaps and bounds ahead of a DSLR and eye autofocus tracking for animals is amazing. I'm looking forward to taking it out on more trips!

Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500