Two for Two!

On two separate visits to the Osprey nest on Monday August 15th, I was reminded that timing is everything, as I was greeted by both babies out on a branch together, the chance of a lifetime!

 

 

I found myself almost too close to them, so repositioned my car for a different angle of them in case the fledged baby decided to take flight:

 

It was certainly looking promising for the younger baby that had yet to fledge, as it was one of the first times that I had actually seen it branching, but it soon began to make its way back to its comfort zone of the nest!

 

I returned later that afternoon for a Golden Hour photo session, despite the possibility of heavy rain, only to find one of the babies snoozing, check out the size of that massive crop!!

After it woke up, some wing and leg stretches were in order:

Preening began in earnest as that magical Golden Hour approached, and I kept hoping for the dark rain clouds off in the distance to just stay that way:

 

This younger baby still was learning how to maintain its balance on the branch:

 

 

...another head-spinning session didn't help matters:

 

 

But it finally found its happy place and began to relax again;

 

It cursed its dad for not deboning the last food drop:

 

 

 

The heavy rain indeed arrived in the end, but at least I had a roof over my head to protect myself from the elements, whereas the poor baby had nothing. Once the rain stopped, I continued shooting as the lighting had changed yet again, and as the sun came out, I suddenly realized that there was a rainbow behind the baby Osprey!

Water droplets were flying everywhere as it spun its head around:

Double-click on the photos to see more detail of the rain on its feathers:

What were the odds of my having such perfect Golden Hour lighting with a rainbow to boot??

A faint double rainbow was off in the distance as I made my way back to the cottage, in an attempt to get ahead of the rain:

An unusual sunset off the dock revealed heavy rains on the right hand side of the photo... 

...which finally made their way across the lake ten minutes later:

What a fabulous "two for two" day! Both babies were out on a branch posing for me on the first visit, an unexpected backdrop of a rainbow at the Golden Hour presented itself on the second visit, and a double rainbow was seen on my way home.

Timing is everything, yet again!