Osprey Sighting.

That would be a Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey sighting. Driving down Colington Road I saw this Osprey taking off from the airstrip. I immediately pulled off the road, got out my camera, and jumped out the truck to get a pic and videos. As you know, I am very easily entertained. Video at airstrip. Video of Osprey while driving down Colington Road. Do not try this at home. The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is the first aircraft designed from the ground up to meet the needs of the Defense Department's four U.S. armed services. After the failure of Operation Eagle Claw (Iran hostage rescue mission) in 1980, the United States military needed a new type of aircraft that combined the functionality of a helicopter's vertical takeoff and landing with the long-range, high-altitude, high-speed cruise performance of turboprop aircraft. The Bell Helicopter and Boeing Helicopter teams were awarded a development contract in 1983 and jointly produced the aircraft. The first Osprey flew in 1989, but complexities and difficulties led to more years of development. The Marine Corps began crew training in 2000 for the Osprey and fielded it in 2007. The Air Force fielded their version in 2009. The Osprey has since been deployed in both combat and rescue missions over Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya.

Colington Harbour Ospreys.

I was out on my deck the other day and saw this osprey on my piling.

So I'm going to move in to see how close he'll let me get.

Close enough to see he's eating a fish.

I love watching the ospreys catch fish. They swoop down to the water and grab the fish, (and yes, they can go into the water a ways) then carry it head first like a torpedo to reduce drag, back to their nest or, in this case, to my piling, to eat it.

I like this picture under my willow trees with the sun coming through.

He knows I'm here.

He's alert.

But he doesn't seem to mind me. And he keeps coming back.

Enjoy the videos.

There are numerous osprey nests throughout the harbor on platforms atop pilings. And an osprey makes a sloppy nest. Makes you wonder how the chicks stay in. Ospreys are seasonal birds here. They leave in September along with the tourons, and migrate to South America. I eagerly await their return the first week of March. It means spring isn't too far away. And after a cold, gray, Nor' Easterly-filled February, I'm more than ready for the promise of spring.