A female Osprey arrives back at the nest where her mate has been taking a turn sitting on their eggs. Taken back on 4-18-2009 on the Manasquan Reservoir in Howell, New Jersey. I am told that both Osprey nests that I was following at the reservoir have been destroyed by storms this Fall/Winter. I hope both Osprey couples can find nesting areas to replace those they lost when they arrive back from their Winter home down south.

For more information on the Manasquan Reservoir, visit their web site at this web site.

For more information on Osprey, visit the Cornell Lab Of Ornithology.

I blended two background textures from the new commercially available texture pack “Playground of the birds” from Distressed Textures to give this the mood I was looking for. The image is a bit of a heavy crop but I like the eye contact between the two Ospreys. A sort of non-verbal communication that is clearly going on.

A male Osprey arrives back at the nest with a fish, sans head, for his female. Often times, an Osprey will eat the head of the fish before returning the rest to the nest. Taken back on 6-6-2009 on the Manasquan Reservoir in Howell, New Jersey.

For more information on the Manasquan Reservoir, visit their web site at this web site.

For more information on Osprey, visit the Cornell Lab Of Ornithology.

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The Father Osprey arrives back at the nest after a successful fishing run over the Manasquan Reservoir in Howell, New Jersey on 6-6-2009. It’s common for Ospreys to eat the head of the fish first before returning to the nest with the rest.

For more information on the Manasquan Resevoir, visit their web site at this web site.

For more information on Osprey, visit the Cornell Lab Of Ornithology.

…If you are missing a Koi, be forewarned that your Koi is not coming home for dinner tonight because it IS dinner tonight for these Ospreys.

An Osprey delivers a fresh branch to the nest to be weaved into the existing nest infrastructure. They do this from time to time to strengthen the nest and repair damage due to storms and general wear and tear. I shot these photos over the Manasquan Reservoir in Howell, NJ.

For more information on the Manasquan Resevoir, visit their web site at this web site.

For more information on Osprey, visit the Cornell Lab Of Ornithology.

Osprey lands at its nest on the Manasquan Reservoir in Howell, NJ on 5-22-2009. With half a day off from work and a chance of thunderstorms later this weekend, I made a last minute decision to go to the reservoir and check in on the Ospreys I have been following. It doesn’t appear that the chicks have hatched at this particular nest yet but I am told they have hatched at the nest closest to the Environmental Center. On a sad note, apparently from what I was told, last weekend’s storm dealt the Eagle’s nest a catastrophic blow and most of it was destroyed. The Eagles were still in the area however and this year’s two chicks were matured enough to probably stand a pretty good chance of making it without the nest. I saw one of the chicks sitting where the full nest used to be and the two adults were fishing nearby.

I tried to envision what it must have been like for the Ospreys weathering the storm that took out the Eagles nest and so in order to come up with an artistic variation of this photo that would portrait that scene, I blended in some free background textures from the following contributors.

Polution – Ghostbones
Aged Puffs – Skeletal Mess

For more information on the Manasquan Resevoir, visit their web site at this web site.

For more information on Osprey, visit the Cornell Lab Of Ornithology.

Osprey carries a portion of a fish over the Manasquan Reservoir in Howell, NJ on 5-22-2009. I like this particular shot because it shows the fantastic wing span these beautiful birds have.

An Osprey screams out to an approaching crow, still a hundred feet away from the nest, to make certain the crow knows it is not welcome near the nest or the Osprey eggs.

For more information on the Manasquan Resevoir, visit their web site at this web site.

For more information on Osprey, visit the Cornell Lab Of Ornithology.

Osprey in flight over the Manaaquan Reservoir in Howell, New Jersey on Saturday 4-18-2009.

For more information on the Manasquan Resevoir, visit their web site at this web site.

For more information on Osprey, visit the Cornell Lab Of Ornithology.

Male Osprey arrives back at the nest of this mating pair on Saturday 4-18-2009 over the Manaaquan Reservoir in Howell, New Jersey.

For more information on the Manasquan Resevoir, visit their web site at this web site.

For more information on Osprey, visit the Cornell Lab Of Ornithology.

This is my very first nest building photo. I coveted the incredible Osprey shots that Flickr friend Shootpics (Bill Wilson) was getting at the Manasquan Reservoir in Howell, New Jersey so I made a trip over there on Sunday 4-5-2009 and checked it out myself.

I love this place. What a wonderful lakeside to spend the day. I saw Osprey, Bald Eagles, Red Winged Black Birds, Mute Swans, Double Crested Cormorants, Canada Geese and a multitude of smaller birds. They have a great perimeter trail system too with parking and bathroom facilities and an environmental center that I hear is pretty neat although I didn’t have time to check it out myself.

For more information on the Manasquan Reservoir, visit their web site at this web site.

For more information on Osprey, visit the Cornell Lab Of Ornithology.