Friday 19th August 2011

Taken with the Kodak, but this is what it's probably best at. This is a model of an Osprey at the annual Rutland Water bird fair. Made of sheets of plastic, it's taller than a person and quite imposing. I went to take a closer look and the sign informed me that using my fair ticket I could go to the other side of the reservoir and view the real life Ospreys, so after I'd finished looking around the stalls I did just that. I took two cameras with me, one a wide angle and one without a memory card, this giving myself zero opportunity to take photos of the Ospreys through the binoculars but some things are worth watching with just your eyes. I quickly spotted a specimen through my binoculars, seeing it fly past at a distance just as I was asking someone where to look. The male switching between flying in a little circuit and sitting on a perch near the nest, and occasionally he'd plummet towards the water, making a splash then flying off. Apparently this is so that they can clean the back of their talons that they can't clean in any other way, and is characteristic of Ospreys only, helping you identify them. When he was sitting on his perch I could really appreciate the grace and beauty of this striking bird with its dominant white markings and head held high.

6mm, 1/506s, f/4.8, ISO 80. (auto)