Nature Unlimited, 31 January 2020

DavidTriplett · January 31, 2020

This is the additional weekly image thread for the Nature Forum. While images posted to this thread should still be nature in theme, it may contain a small amount of human-made objects and therefore less restricted than the Monday in Nature threads. Please see this discussion for more details: Alternative weekly thread in Nature forum

Each participant please post no more than just one image per weekly thread.

Osprey, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA:

Just east-south-east of Lookout Point, in the Canyon Area of Yellowstone National Park, there is a lone pinnacle of rock with a large nest. We've seen Osprey here for several years, including this past June, 2019. In May-June the nest is occupied by adults and eggs/hatchlings/fledglings, while the not-quite grown youngsters are more obvious in later summer. By autumn the nest is empty. A unique feature of this nesting site is it's total physical isolation, while being readily observable from the viewpoint. It's funny how many of the tourists never see the nest until it is pointed out to them, particularly with the nest being only about 55 meters from a heavily trafficked viewpoint. This is an excellent photo and viewing location in that the viewpoint is above the nest, and much of the adults' hunting activity occurs at or below eye level. Good lighting can be an issue down in the canyon early and late in the day. This is always one of my "must stop" locations when travelling through the park. Oh, and there's a nice view of the Lower Falls in the other direction, if you're interested in that sort of thing. (Fodder for the Landscape forum.) :)