Osprey; Olly

I've spent so much time with this osprey (Pandion haliaetus) family that I've had to give them names. This biggest guy I'm calling "Olly" after Olly Steeds on the Discovery Channel. I don't know why. He's just "Olly." He posed on a lower limb for me this afternoon which allowed me to capture some more detailed, close-up images.

When you look at this image at full size you can see the glittery yellow of his eye.

His tail feathers are stacked at least 20 deep. When his wings are outstretched he becomes a 6 foot (2 meter) monster fish killing and eating machine.



Olly is holding a fish. He looks around with little interest in anything that I can see. Then he eats (below).

There is another Osprey nest about 1,000 yards (914 meters) to the northwest. Perhaps they compete for food?



Olly's nest is taking on a spooky look with the addition of Spanish Moss (Tillandsia usneoides). The moss is a relative of pineapple.



Below: I backed up a bit for scale.



Below: I backed up another couple hundred feet (61 meters). One still cannot see the bottom of that tall, dead tree. The closest I ever get to the Osprey is probably 60 feet distant (18 meters).



The green trees at bottom of the dead, nest tree are young, Southern Live Oaks (Quercus virginiana Mill.) They are about 20 feet (7 meters) tall.