Photographing Ospreys in Freeport, Maine with the Sony A1ii and Sony 200-600mm lens.

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On a recent visit to Freeport, Maine, I had an opportunity photographing Ospreys at Wolf Neck State Park with the Sony Alpha 1 II, the company's latest flagship full-frame mirrorless camera, and the Sony SEL 200-600mm G F5.6-6.3.

Given the choice between my one-thousandth trip to L.L. Bean (our family first visited the store in the early 1970s, when it was a single-story shop with the layaway upstairs), I let my wife and kids do the shopping and headed to the coastline in search of birds.

Full disclosure: I am NOT a professional wildlife photographer but have found that photographing birds is an excellent way to master one’s camera equipment, both for the pressure to capture action and moving subjects under changing conditions, as well as sorting out the best methods for smooth operations in terms of focus, aperture, shutter, and ISO settings.

So, with my Sony A1ii, 200-600mm, and a Leofoto monopod, I drove over to Wolf Neck State Park and asked the park ranger if I had a chance of photographing ospreys.

Luckily, the ranger was a birder herself and having been photographing Ospreys the night before, was able to point out exactly where the nest was, which I found about 30 minutes later.

The enormous nest was atop a massive dead tree trunk about 100 yards offshore, visible from only ONE clear vantage point, positioned between two birch trees just off the hiking trail. As you can see in the photos, there were three chicks (or near-fledglings) in the nest, noticeable by their clearly orange eyes, and two adults that circled in and out — marked by their distinctly yellow eyes.

The single most important skill for wildlife photography is patience.

Mine was put to the test, waiting over an hour for the first real movement in the nest, followed by a few takeoffs and landings by the adults over the next two hours. At one point, the fledglings were fed a meal of fresh fish, which you can see in the photos, but also in the 100FPS video, shot also on the Sony A1ii. After a while, I found myself keyed in to listening for the cries of the adults when they came in and circled, sometimes prior to landing in the nest, which was a helpful cue to getting set with the camera.

https://youtu.be/qDV7-J0037k

Ospreys Feed in Wolf Neck State Park, Freeport, Maine, USA

While Dubai has its good points, for sure, the opportunity to photograph wildlife in Maine was a welcome change. The colors, weather, wildlife, and general vibe made me appreciate New England, profoundly. I can’t wait until next summer. I’ll post another couple entries about the Cormorants, Dragonflies, Bees, and Loons in the coming weeks.