Bird's eye view
Osprey from on high
One of the joys of climbing mountains, or, in our area, hills, is that the vantage points you reach at the height-of-land often put you above the raptors that normally soar overhead. This Osprey was, in fact, at least 100 foot below me, as it flapped its wings and searched the water—the fish hawk was about 50 feet above the surface—for the telltale sign of fins. I don't think it found anything worth diving for, and I doubt it had any inkling that I was on a summit and focusing down on the bird, a distinctly unnatural situation. Nor was the Osprey the only raptor I observed from on high, for my observations included above-the-bird's-eye-views of soaring Turkey Vultures. Talk about new perspectives... and great camera angles.