Osprey Thwarted

Osprey Chase off the Pond

Waiting in a Tamarack

Thwarted From Fishing

Heading South

Back in the rainy Pacific Northwest, it feels chillier than sunny Missoula, Montana. But that's okay. I've adjusted to the rain and it feels right.

Sitting on the porch step, rain sprinkles my feet as I sip my first cup of morning coffee. I wiggle my toes and watch the steely sky. I'm looking for osprey.

A shrill whistle sounds from the pond and three red-winged blackbirds fly into formation. They spot the osprey before I do. I want to tell the alarmist birds that osprey eat a diet of 99% fish, but then again, who knows? Maybe that 1% is blackbird eggs cupped in pond nests like a gourmet treat.

Three determined blackbirds harass the bobbing fisher-bird who looks huge in comparison. He dodges the trio and lands in a tamarack to the south. Maybe he's thinking how to sneak past the blackbirds to the pond. Amidst all the rain sprinkles the fish are rising, ringing the water in such a way that must frustrate the osprey.

It frustrates me--I want to see the osprey cannonball. But alas, he flies off heading south. The blackbirds trill to one another and I go back inside to get a second cup of coffee.

Osprey thwarted, this time.