Immature Osprey Catches a Fish at Fort Supply Lake

I nearly drove past the bird that gave me these photographs of an immature osprey with fish. While driving around Fort Supply Lake in Oklahoma, I spotted vultures in a dead tree near the water’s edge. Then I noticed one bird looked different.

An Unexpected Bird Among the Vultures

I had planned to keep driving until that bird caught my attention. As I got closer, I could see it was an immature osprey. I found a place to park and began photographing it.

From a distance, I had grouped the birds together as vultures. Taking a closer look gave me a chance to recognize the osprey before moving on. The dead tree stood near the lake, with bare branches above the water’s edge.

A few minutes after I started photographing, the osprey dove into the water and came up with a fish. I had stopped for a perched bird and now had a chance to photograph it carrying its catch.

Photographing an Immature Osprey With Fish

I managed to get several photographs as the osprey flew with the fish gripped in its talons. In the flight photograph, its wings stretch across the frame, and the fish hangs beneath its body. The blue sky gives a clear view of both the bird and its catch.

The osprey flew back to its perch with the fish. Once it landed, I could photograph the catch from another angle. In this view, you can see its long talons wrapped around the fish against the broken top of the tree.

The pale edges on its brown wing feathers also show well in the perched photograph. Those feather details are easier to see here than in the flight view.

Back on the Perch to Eat

After returning, the young osprey began eating its fish. It bent its head toward the catch while holding it against the perch.

I have also photographed an Osprey on a Towering Nest in Wyoming. This Oklahoma encounter gave me the chance to watch a young bird catch a meal and return to eat it.

I’m glad I took a closer look at that dead tree before driving on.