Bruce's hike to the swamp

A friend of mine (Bruce) emailed me yesterday some pics he took on a recent hike. He retired last year, so he has lots of time for cool hikes and snapping pics:

Over the weekend, I hiked to a nest that I discovered a couple months ago, to see if there was any recent activity. It's a large nest, so I thought it may be an eagle or an osprey, since they tend to use the same nest year after year. It was an interesting hike and I thought you might like to see some of what I saw. This is the best nest site I have ever seen for a large bird of prey - it has a lot of character. I shot a ton of pictures, but here are a few to experience a "virtual hike."

Here is the nest in March of this year. There was no activity.

The nest is located on top of a dead tree in the middle of a large swamp.

I saw several large snakes along the edge of the swamp.

And lots of frogs that the snakes feed on.

There were also some large bullfrogs.

This yearling came out of the woods on the edge of the swamp to feed on some tender, new vegetation.

An osprey landed and sat in the nest on and off, so there may be some eggs in the nest.

A landing approach from the north.

Fly-over from the south.

Another fly-over from the south.

Overhead shot

Another overhead shot

I hope you enjoyed this virtual hike. There should be a lot of activity after the eggs hatch, since both parents will be busy bringing fresh food to their young. I also saw a beaver surface in front of me and swim away before I could get a picture (one of the many shots that "got away"). I think one of the landing shots may be a candidate for Nat Geo. You can imagine how many pictures I had to take to get a few good ones. Thank God for digital. I love my new job. Have a great day...

Thanks for the pics Bruce! They're awesome. What a great hike!