The Ospreys, Part 2

I had first encountered the ospreys along the San Antonio River during my afternoon walk Friday, September 30. When I returned to the river the following Wednesday, October 5, the ospreys were still present flying along the river looking for fish.

On this walk I had a remarkably close encounter with one of them. At one point, this very large bird with a wingspan of about five feet was flying straight at me and came so close I wasn't sure what was about to happen:

An eye to eye encounter with an osprey is by far the most intense, unforgettable experience I've had on my walks to date. It is hard to fully comprehend an osprey's size when it is at a distance. When it is a few yards away, it's size is absolutely astonishing. Its agility in flight is especially remarkable for a bird this large.

When I posted the first part of this series I thought I would combine the photos from this post with the ones from my subsequent walk on October 7. After taking a closer look while editing, I decided this needs to be a three part series, so there will be one more osprey post next week.