2017-09-09 South to Gold Beach Oregon

Osprey

Having booked a ticket on the Mail Boat for the 108 mile white water of the Rogue River, I had a whole day to look for subjects to satisfy my “bird-tooth”. I did not have to go far, only a quarter mile to the South Jetty of the Rogue River mouth. Dozens of Osprey were engaged in the business of fish catching there. Soon I was seeing fish in those talons as the birds flew inshore. I was late getting parked and setting up my camera gear, but soon there were more birds shuttling fish back to shore.

California and Western Gulls were cruising the jetty, and I captured a few images of these birds along with Double-Crested Cormorants and Turkey Vultures. The night’s high tide brought a carcase of a large harbor seal inside the gravel bar at the jetty’s opening to the sea and near where I was parked. Eventually the vultures found it and managed a few bites before the tide took their bounty away. Tide giveth, tide taketh away.

I took a midday trip south to Hunter Creek, but little in the way of bird life was found there. I spent the rest of the day organizing pictures for this post. Tomorrow I will take my camera with a landscape lens, but I’ll take a 70-200mm lens and a 1.4 extender in case animal subjects appear.