Osprey, Napatree

I know that, a la Louis Pasteur, "chance favors only the prepared mind"—or photographer and naturalist—but hey, sometimes you just get lucky, truly lucky. With a cold front moving through last night, I'd made the decision to break work discipline and head to Watch Hill in the early morning to check on the prospect that birds, butterflies, and dragonflies might be starting to migrate towards Napatree Point. However, when I started walking the great beach, it was clear that the trek south wasn't taking place. I was simply too early. But I had all the right photo gear in hand when, out of nowhere, an Osprey dropped out of the sky—it must have been hovering unseen overhead—and plunged between me walking the lower beach and the surf line in search of a fish. The lens cap was off. The camera was on. The telephoto zoom was not locked. All the settings were adequately pre-set. All I had to do was raise the camera and start shooting. I could quibble with the result—a faster shutter speed in the opening shot would have been better to really freeze the motion (a 500th of a second wasn't enough)—but I couldn't argue with my great, good luck at being in the right place at the right time. The fish hawk, of course, could definitely quibble with the result. The Osprey missed its target. Better luck... for the raptor... next time. Hope I'm prepared for the next chance.

Osprey 2, Napatree