Osprey is Hunted
The topic for today is the fearlessness and tenacity of parents when a predator comes too close. This is not my first sighting of the osprey at Lakeside Park this year, but the first when I actually managed to get a few sharpish photos. I saw the osprey land in the trees on the far side of the trail. It obviously thought it could sneak in unseen by the nesting birds, but as soon as it set off over the lake, a red-winged blackbird fearlessly headed straight for it: Undeterred by the difference in size, the talons and sharply curved beak, the blackbird zeroed in on its hapless quarry, forcing it over to the tree line: It doggedly pursued the osprey and then just as in a wrestling match, tagged with one of the kingbirds, nesting in the tallest tree on that side of the lake. I wish I had more photos, but I could not focus my manual lens fast enough as the birds headed straight toward me. The eastern kingbird actually landed on the back of the osprey and pecked at the back of it...