hard fall

A bit of photojournalism in nature.

Went back this AM to the rookery to get some shots of the parents feeding their young. As the parent landed there was intense jostling for the limited fish a single parent could bring. One of the young lost balance and fell off the edge of the nest. Hung to the bottom of the nest for 10 mins, then fell 40+ ft hitting several limbs on the way down. Landed in the water and seemed OK, but will have to survive on its own if it can.

This is all one bird in two photos that were quickly mated together.