Scenes from the river....

I thought I would post a thread showcasing the activity that goes on along the Rappahannock River near Fredericksburg, VA this time of year. As the Hickory Shad start their spawning run from the Chesapeake Bay up several tributaries in VA, they become a buffet for the many birds. Great Blue Herons, Osprey, and even Bald Eagle make this area home temporarily, and take advantage of the wealth of food for more than a month. From late March until early May this goes on. If you are ever driving through during this time, come into F'burg by the Route 1 bridge and look over the side... you can see as many 20 herons at a time!

Hope you will enjoy the photos as much as I enjoy this time of year, and just being there sharing in the bounty!

A statuesque Great Blue Heron

Tis the season... and the prime spots fill up fast!

Hey! That's not a fish!
A GBH looks on as a Double-crested Cormorant swims by.

Double-crested Cormorant getting ready to take off

Swift water...

What are you lookin' at???

A dirty look by a female Osprey

First fish of the season...

Leaving now...

Getting in deep....

A fly by...

Nature's own hover craft...

Here's lookin' at ya...

The strike pose...
The legs shoot forward with the talons fully open just before the Osprey hits the water.

Missed... not every strike is successful!

But then again, sometimes you get lucky!
Two for one!

Thanks for looking...
Karen

Wow Karen! You do incredible work. I feel like I was right there!
Thanks for sharing more of your beautiful photographs of beautiful birds.

Karen, What a great group of shots. Really enjoyed them, you are such a wonderful photographer.

What a thrill. Karen, may I pin some of those shots on my pinterest, or have you done so and if so I would like to know where to find them so I can pin them. Could I have your name to give you the credit for them. They are too good not to share all over the place.

Awesome! Love the two for one shot

What a wonderful surprise to wake up to today! Karen , you are a 'gift' to me.

Is this the same river where we played the game of guessing how many birds were in one picture? Hope you will post more as the shad run continues.

Karen: These are stunning! Great clarity and focus. How do you get those shots?

Thank you all!

JB, I do not use Pinterest, but I don't mind you sharing some of the photos. I would like to have my name attached to them please. My name is Karen Allen.... thanks!

Judy, yes it is the same river! My hubby and I have been setting up in the same spot for at least three years now. It really is a sight to see in person! Sometimes, I even just sit there and watch, without trying to take "the shot".

The Ospreys make us laugh. There will be several people in waders, standing in the river fishing (the shad run is not just for birds ya know!)... The Osprey will dive into the water only feet away from a fisherman and come up with a fish! They can out-fish the anglers four to one! I laugh!

Happy...

Here I am with my "gun"! LOL! (Photo by my hubby)

Karen: Now that looks like a serious setup! How much does it weigh? I'm surprised you don't need to use a tripod. But that explains the beauty of your shots.

LOL! It is heavy! The lens alone weighs about five pounds! I can't stand to use a tripod! It inhibits me from getting into positions I want for certain shots... i.e. getting low, or tracking a diving bird! I am not as steady as I used to be, so I do throw out my share of blurry pics too! I will brace against trees, my own knee, etc. when I can... like in the above shot my left arm is balanced on my left knee!

WOW

Rose, thanks so much for sharing those photos... it's not just the clarity of your telephoto shots, it's also the great depth of field on some of them (like "Swift Water") and also your knack for framing good shots even when your subject is in motion! As always, I'm in awe.

Karen, thank you for the permission to put your pictures up on my Pinterest. I will use your name and the information you gave us as to where they were taken. In fact to be sure you get the credit you do deserve, I may do something special with this information....I have to look and see what I can do. I will give you a link when I am finished. Thank you again. I just love birds and I have so many friends who love pictures and want to share. Older people seem to have more time to watch and look at pictures but I am amazed at the number of young people who actually share my pictures on Pinterest. Later. JB

JB--

Can you link me to Pinterest--the part where you are involved and post pictures?
I want to see what all this is about.......

Thanks, Gita

I will be happy to post the link on here if you want. Karen is the boss and if she says ok it is ok.
I will try and work on it tomorrow. Have a good evening. Hugs. JB

Thank you all again for your kind comments!

It is supposed to be really nice this weekend, so you know I will be there some!

Thanks for the link to this thread, Karen. Fantastic shots. As you know I'm quite taken with ospreys and that shot of the one nearing its plunge into the water is superb.

Great shots! thanks for sharing

I really enjoyed the photos Karen!

Lynn

Great shots Karen!

Enjoyed your photos immensely! Thanks for posting them.

Fantastic photos. thank you for sharing with us.

Karen, you're not wasting your leisure time! terrific pics. Love the Ospreys doing their business. I'm more familiar with Herons, here is my frequent guest

Great fishing sequence, C-girl! I love that heron in the snow, with the red tree (red twig dogwood? or?)... very striking, and different than the way I usually imagine them among green reeds or at the shore LOL.