I swung by Dutch Gap on the way home from work yesterday afternoon and
spent almost two hours there enjoying the nice weather and lots of
birds. The usual suspects were there and had a few editions as well. I
was sitting down on the shoreline near the first platform shooting
fly-bys when I noticed the osprey on the tree across the marsh take off
flying in my direction. I looked again and saw why, a bald eagle coming
towards him and his fish. They flew toward the second platform area out
of my sight line and then I see the bale eagle coming towards me with
the fish...and the osprey hot on his tail. The osprey was hollering and
had claws out toward the eagle and the eagle kept looking behind him.
The osprey finally got too close and the eagle turned at the osprey,
talons up (even though they had a fish in them), and the osprey backed
off. The eagle turned and headed back towards the river and the osprey
gave up and went back to his tree without a fish. There is an osprey
nest across from the second platform way across the marsh and there is
another further down towards the river. I walked down to the point and
watched several eagles flying the winds over the river and then had
another come right over my head while I stood there.
I headed out and as I passed the marshy area, I noticed some movement in
the woods. I parked and walked along the edge of the road and had a
good dozen wood ducks in the standing water back in the wooded area.
A nice afternoon at Dutch Gap.
Pics start at: http://fynefoto.phanfare.com/5970522#imageID=182433408
Barbara Houston
New Kent, VA
