and then up to Grayling. On the way I knew I would be passing a Blue Huron rookery and thought I would stop and see if there were any birds still in the nests. I took my camera along with the telephoto lens. The rookery is quite a ways from the road, where I had to stay but I thought I might be able to get a shot or two.
Blue Hurons nest in groups called Rookerys. This one has over 35 nests in it at the top of old dead trees. They are between two highways in a flooded area. Just perfect for fish eating fish like Hurons.
[attachment 64217 rookery.jpg]
This is just a small part of the Rookery
I pulled up and sat in the truck, looking for any movement but saw none. It looks like they had all fledged their chicks and I was too late. I was getting ready to pull out when I noticed a big bird flying over the trees. There were two of them! Eagles are rather common in the area as they feed on the fish in the area too.
One of them swooped down toward the roost and I'll be danged if it was not an osprey. They also nest in the area but usually on man made stands put in the middle of a swamp. I had the camera in my hand when I saw the sucker head for a big nest!
Osprey are sometimes called Fish Eagles and they are big too. As this bird came to the nest a chick popped up and greeted it. Man I was excited! Got a couple pictures fast and hoped they would come out.
This new camera can take 3 shots a second and in Sport mode it will lock onto a moving target and keep it in focus. At least that is what it said in the book and I will be danged if I didn't remember it!
I quickly switched to sport mode and started looking around for the mate. I saw it off a ways and just aimed the camera at it and cut loose. The thing was a long shot with a 300 mm lens and hand held by a sucker that had no clue what he was doing but I let er rip.
It flew off a ways and another one came into view. I aimed it it and held down the shutter. All together I got maybe 25 shots at the birds. I didn't figure there was any way any would be worth a darned but this is the way to learn how to use the camera I guess.
I just got home and dumped them in the puter and was very happy with how they came out, considering the conditions. The focus is not perfect and the one picture of it with the fish, looks like a small pike to me, was of the bird flying away from me. I could not tell which way it was going at the time. But all in all I like the results. Most of the pictures were in pretty good focus, considering the distance and hand held and I got shots I would never have gotten with my old cameras.
[attachment 64218 Osprey-landing.jpg]
This is the bird at the nest. I first saw it about here
[attachment 64219 Osprey-landing2.jpg]
[attachment 64222 Osprey-flyingfish.jpg]
[attachment 64221 Osprey-flyingfish2.jpg]
You can see the fish in its talons. Not a bad sized fish either
Blue Hurons nest in groups called Rookerys. This one has over 35 nests in it at the top of old dead trees. They are between two highways in a flooded area. Just perfect for fish eating fish like Hurons.
[attachment 64217 rookery.jpg]
This is just a small part of the Rookery
I pulled up and sat in the truck, looking for any movement but saw none. It looks like they had all fledged their chicks and I was too late. I was getting ready to pull out when I noticed a big bird flying over the trees. There were two of them! Eagles are rather common in the area as they feed on the fish in the area too.
One of them swooped down toward the roost and I'll be danged if it was not an osprey. They also nest in the area but usually on man made stands put in the middle of a swamp. I had the camera in my hand when I saw the sucker head for a big nest!
Osprey are sometimes called Fish Eagles and they are big too. As this bird came to the nest a chick popped up and greeted it. Man I was excited! Got a couple pictures fast and hoped they would come out.
This new camera can take 3 shots a second and in Sport mode it will lock onto a moving target and keep it in focus. At least that is what it said in the book and I will be danged if I didn't remember it!
I quickly switched to sport mode and started looking around for the mate. I saw it off a ways and just aimed the camera at it and cut loose. The thing was a long shot with a 300 mm lens and hand held by a sucker that had no clue what he was doing but I let er rip.
It flew off a ways and another one came into view. I aimed it it and held down the shutter. All together I got maybe 25 shots at the birds. I didn't figure there was any way any would be worth a darned but this is the way to learn how to use the camera I guess.
I just got home and dumped them in the puter and was very happy with how they came out, considering the conditions. The focus is not perfect and the one picture of it with the fish, looks like a small pike to me, was of the bird flying away from me. I could not tell which way it was going at the time. But all in all I like the results. Most of the pictures were in pretty good focus, considering the distance and hand held and I got shots I would never have gotten with my old cameras.
[attachment 64218 Osprey-landing.jpg]
This is the bird at the nest. I first saw it about here
[attachment 64219 Osprey-landing2.jpg]
[attachment 64222 Osprey-flyingfish.jpg]
[attachment 64221 Osprey-flyingfish2.jpg]
You can see the fish in its talons. Not a bad sized fish either
They run after them, even though the eagles are way up in the sky, yapping their fool heads off. And we encourage them to do that. 
I would say you had a most excellent day with the camera! 
