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arbitrage

arbitrage

Well-known member
Member's gallery
This past weekend I kayaked on Friday and Sunday mornings. Saturday was too windy. On calm days the local male osprey likes to fish directly from tree tops. On windy days he prefers fishing from hovering. When he fishes from a treetop I can position my kayak below him allowing him room to dive somewhere in front of me. Sometimes he changes his tree if he hasn't seen a fish to dive at for 15-20mins. I can quickly paddle over to his new tree and wait him out.

Here are some photos I got from the two outings this weekend. All in all I had him dive twice in front of me on Friday and he dove 4 times on Sunday but one of those he aborted before hitting the water. Friday he was successful both times. Sunday he was successful two times. Both days the first fish he caught he ate himself and the second fish he flew away from the lagoon towards his nest which is not right along the lagoon shore but instead on a light at a nearby ball field.

Friday shots were with Sony A1 and 600 f/4 GM. Sunday was Sony A1 and 400 f/2.8 GM.
I use a Wilderness Systems Pungo 120 kayak with is super stable and has a huge cockpit opening. Camera/lens sits between my legs, and when I shot the paddle just rests across the cockpit tucked up to my abdomen. My friend took a photo of me in action last year so I'll include that also.



June 23, 2023.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr
June 23, 2023.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr
June 23, 2023.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr
June 23, 2023-2.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr
June 23, 2023-2.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr
June 23, 2023.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr
June 23, 2023-2.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr
June 23, 2023-2.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr
June 25, 2023.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr
June 25, 2023-2.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr
June 25, 2023-2.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr
June 25, 2023.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr
June 23, 2023.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr
June 25, 2023-2.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr

IMG_3924 by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr
 
Member's gallery
Wow, those are beyond stellar!! Love the lighting. And the way they dive with their talons extended...such a fierce and terrifying image, especially if you're the fish!

And I too have the WS Pungo 120, I agree it's a great kayak for photography.
 
Member's gallery
arbitrage said:
This past weekend I kayaked on Friday and Sunday mornings. Saturday was too windy. On calm days the local male osprey likes to fish directly from tree tops. On windy days he prefers fishing from hovering. When he fishes from a treetop I can position my kayak below him allowing him room to dive somewhere in front of me. Sometimes he changes his tree if he hasn't seen a fish to dive at for 15-20mins. I can quickly paddle over to his new tree and wait him out.

Here are some photos I got from the two outings this weekend. All in all I had him dive twice in front of me on Friday and he dove 4 times on Sunday but one of those he aborted before hitting the water. Friday he was successful both times. Sunday he was successful two times. Both days the first fish he caught he ate himself and the second fish he flew away from the lagoon towards his nest which is not right along the lagoon shore but instead on a light at a nearby ball field.

Friday shots were with Sony A1 and 600 f/4 GM. Sunday was Sony A1 and 400 f/2.8 GM.
I use a Wilderness Systems Pungo 120 kayak with is super stable and has a huge cockpit opening. Camera/lens sits between my legs, and when I shot the paddle just rests across the cockpit tucked up to my abdomen. My friend took a photo of me in action last year so I'll include that also.



June 23, 2023.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr
June 23, 2023.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr
June 23, 2023.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr
June 23, 2023-2.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr
June 23, 2023-2.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr
June 23, 2023.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr
June 23, 2023-2.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr
June 23, 2023-2.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr
June 25, 2023.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr
June 25, 2023-2.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr
June 25, 2023-2.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr
June 25, 2023.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr
June 23, 2023.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr
June 25, 2023-2.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr

IMG_3924 by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr
Click to expand...
Incredible series! Love the ones coming at you during the dive. well done👍👍👍👍
 
Member's gallery
This is world class stuff. That first sequence with the bird coming straight at you at that low angle is off the charts.

We use a similar tactic with eagles. Of course they always fish from a perch so easy to find them and stake them out. After they get used to the boat being around they pretty much ignore us other than being somewhat reticent to take a fish coming straight at the boat. They'll usually alter their trajectory slightly to avoid passing straight over the boat after they grab the fish. Early in the season when they have chicks in the nest but before the salmon are running they fish all day.
 
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