OBNWR

For a change of pace, I went to the refuge at the end of the day instead of at dawn. I saw rabbits, deer, muskrats, and I botched all three because I was set up to shoot birds. The deer were in the shade and I didn't get the ISO boosted before they ran away. My fuzzy shots show they were two bucks with budding antlers. The muskrat was too close and I didn't get it focused before it swam away. The rabbits, I didn't even try to shoot.

There's an osprey platform near the parking lot. I usually don't bother shooting it, but today I grabbed a couple of shots because the juveniles were clearly visible.

Osprey with Nestlings

I went to the shoreside nest, saw an eagle perched, and it flew away before I could get it focused. There were branches in the foreground that confused the autofocus, and as I was trying to get it dialed in manually, off it went. As I walked farther, I saw a juvenile eagle approaching. I rushed through the bushes to the beach (the tide was out) and it abruptly changed direction as I tried to shoot right over my head.Here's the only usable shot from that sequence.

Juvenile Bald Eagle

As an aside, there are several places in the refuge near the shoreline road that are swampy. The Potomac/Occoquan rivers are tidal at this location. When the tide is high, water flows into the swamps. When the tide is low, the swamps turn into mud holes and it's possible to walk on the beach where the view of the bay is unobstructed by vegetation. More than once, I've seen one of these swampy areas full of dead fish, with a flock of buzzards feasting. This happened yesterday. I mention this because I flushed a bunch of them when I walked around a bend in the road. They are big and ugly. Their wings are especially noisy as they flap. And I still haven't figured out what kills so many fish.