Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge

It's Memorial Day weekend. I'm enjoying the warm weather and time off from work. I visited the refuge again, with some results that I like.

The refuge is small, and several stretches of road are closed because of bald eagle nesting. I proceeded to the roadblock to see if I could get any shots of eagles in/near the nest in the center of the refuge. I got some grainy shots of a single eaglet with a parent, not worth showing here. Then I headed toward the water. Shortly after arriving at the waterfront, I noticed a large bird flying over the water, right toward me. I started shooting, capturing a series of shots with the bird growing in the frame as it got closer. Here's one of the best of the series.

Juvenile Bald Eagle

And here's another shot, with a little tongue showing.

Juvenile Bald Eagle

It has mottled feathers, beak that's not quite yellow yet, and doesn't look like the iconic pictures of bald eagles, but I like it. So I got some good shots right away; the rest of the walk was like playing with house money: I got keepers right away.

I kept walking and eventually approached the same nest I'd started at, but this time from the opposite direction. As I approached, I saw an eagle fly by and land in a tree near the nest. I got some shots of it, but they aren't noteworthy so I won't show them here. I lingered for a while, hoping for some action, but nothing was happening. I turned to get some shots of nearby ospreys, and when I turned back the eagle was flying away. Here's a shot.

Bald Eagle in Flight

Not well-exposed, but I like the detail in the feathers in its right wing and the light showing through the holes in the feathers is something I'd never seen before. This bird was very annoying - it flew away as I was looking away. With nothing left to shoot at that location and the park closing soon, I headed back to the parking lot. I was hoping to see something in the woods near the shore so I kept looking. I almost missed this eagle.

Bald Eagle

I stood there for a while, shooting away. Because it was still, I tried several different exposure compensation settings. Eventually it flew away.

Bald Eagle in Flight

But it didn't fly far. I was able to find it again.

Bald Eagle

A few minutes later it flew away.

Bald Eagle in Flight

And that was it for the day.

So I'm pleased with the results and the location. The refuge seems mostly deserted, and the ospreys are always there (at least until they migrate). The eagles are a bit harder to find, but it's worth the work. I was able to get some keepers and I obeyed the park rules (staying on the roads, staying out of the areas marked off-limits).

Ospreys

When I decide to try bird photography I quickly learned that ospreys are good subjects for beginners; they're big, tolerate human presence, fly around a lot, and are common along the East Coast. My first opportunity to shoot them was during a recent trip to Florida. I went to Gasparilla Island to relax on the beach for a while, hoping for some shots of ospreys. While there were loads of seagulls, the only ospreys I could find at the beach were camped out far away on the pillars of a ruined pier. I gave up and left, only to see several flying low over the exit road. I pulled over and started shooting. Boy are they chatty. This is probably the best shot I go of the three birds flying around, sometimes right over my head too close to shoot with my telephoto.


Osprey in Flight

One of them settled in a tree for a few minutes, just holding on to a fish. I slowly approached to try to get close enough to get a decent shot. Eventually I got this one of the bird looking right at me.

Osprey Standing On a Fish

It flew away, circled and landed again in a different spot.

Osprey Landing

It didn't sit long. It circled around a lot, sometimes looking at me as it passed close overhead.

Osprey in Flight With Fish

Another day while in Florida, I visited Honeymoon Island near Tampa. I'd read there were lots of ospreys there. It doesn't get any easier photographing birds. They were everywhere.

Osprey

The close proximity to the Gulf of Mexico and the protected waters of the sound make for lots of food for these birds.

Ospreys with Dinner

Since that trip I've seen ospreys at Mason Neck and Conowingo and Burke Lake. While it's poorly-exposed and at the limit of my lens' capability, I like this one of a bald eagle confronting an osprey at Burke Lake.

Bald Eagle Confronts Osprey

And one more in flight shot, this time from Occoquan Bay Wildlife Refuge.

Osprey in Flight

So what have I learned about ospreys:

• They're big enough to be easy targets.
• They tolerate close approach by people.
• Here in Northern Virginia they can be found in the Spring and Summer near the Potomac River on just about any dead tree or pole near or in water.
• Their light-colored bodies and minimal dark feathers make it easy to expose properly.

In short, they're great birds for easy photographic work.

Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge

Having been to Mason Neck twice, I decided to try the other side of the bay: Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. If there are eagles and ospreys at Mason Neck, they must be across the bay too. An Internet search turned up several pages describing birding outings there.

So I drove there and parked. Within a few minutes of starting to walk, I saw the first of several platforms for osprey nests. There was a pair of ospreys in the first nest, but I couldn't get a clear shot. I kept walking and came to a barrier across the road with a sign stating the area was closed because of nesting eagles. This was the best shot I could get of the eaglet from behind the barrier.



Bald Eaglet

I turned around and found another path toward the bay. When I reached the shore, I saw this osprey. These birds are so much easier to photograph than eagles, and I love it when I can get sunlight streaming through the feathers.



Osprey

 As I walked along the shore I saw more of them, or maybe it was the same one sometimes. I did eventually see at least four of them at once, all flying around a field.



Osprey

 I think this shot is the best of the bunch. She (I think it's a female) flew right over me, low, and I managed to get the eye and feathers in sharp focus.



Osprey

Ospreys eat fish almost exclusively. Here's one with dinner. Well, there's not much left of the fish, so maybe this is just dessert.



Osprey with Fish

 Here's one last shot as it flew overhead.



Osprey

It was hot and I wanted to get out of the sun before I sunburned, so I started heading back to the car, disappointed that the eagles I'd seen flying in the distance never made another appearance. I came across a woman looking into the woods. When I looked to see what she was looking at, I managed two shots of this eagle before it flew away.


Bald Eagle

So it wasn't the most productive of photo walks, but I got to scout a new park and it's definitely worth a repeat visit.