Our Osprey

This is our Osprey. She probably wouldn't see it that way as she has only recently come to Howlands Landing, stopping by for a nice lunch of Opaleye while sitting on our pier. She started coming to our cove in the fall. Before then, I had never seen one in the wild. Now she spends most days, from mid-morning to mid-afternoon, sitting on top of the pier, fishing and eating. It's funny how the colder waters that arrive late in the year, push people away while luring all types of marine life with it's nutrient rich currents. With no boats in sight and a cove full of fish, she stands guard over her prey and her cove, giving a skeptical eye to all who approach. Unalarmed, and unflinching, she will let you walk directly under her as she is perched. She'll give you a glance, then a profile shot, as if she's saying, "Remember, I am a Raptor. I have ancestors who could've swallowed you whole."
To say she is ours implies the idea that we have some sort of ownership or control of her or what she does. Nothing could be farther from the truth. This Osprey is completely free. She doesn't even live in the cove, she just stops by for snacks. She goes where the fish are and as long as they're here she will be too. As an apex predator and a population control monitor, the kelp forest ecosystem needs her inherited fishing skills. She is a rare, but vital part of the nutrient cycle, and one we get to watch from land while sipping coffee and staying warm and dry.