So! For those of you who like seeing wild birds of prey, and who live in or near Jacksonville, Florida, or who might happen to be driving through the area, I'm just putting this up as a good location to see a pair of wild adult osprey, and possibly in the future their offspring.

Now, let me say that I've noticed these only because I drive the route almost every single day, twice a day, going to and from college, and have been for over a year--by no means do I see them every day, or even every week. This is the compilation of over a year of spotting them as I drive by. I also tend to keep an eye out for animals, so that's definitely part of it.

When you drive down 295 (or from 9A to 295) you'll eventually go over a 4 mile long bridge, flat on the two sides with a tall area in the center, over the St. John's River, called the Buckman bridge. It is here that I have observed the birds; they like to perch on the light posts. I believe they hunt off of them as well, as I tend to see them perched and looking towards the water, rather than circling and getting ready to dive down. I believe them to be ospreys because of their size, coloration, and hunting patterns.

They're large, with the typical white belly, chest and throat and dark brown/black plumage on the top of the head, body and wings. I haven't ever seen any black coloration on the belly (bars, speckles, etc.). I've observed one swooping towards the water, but didn't actually see it hit, and didn't see if it caught a fish or not, but it sure looked like it was about to grab one.

There are two (I was lucky today--I saw both of them!!) and there is what I believe to be a nest. Until today I hadn't been able to see it clearly enough (it's on the backside of a sign, blocked from my view because of the direction I'm driving) but today I was able to glance behind me quickly enough to see it. Since I haven't ever seen them on the nest (which may be because I never twist around while driving away to look...) I'm not sure if they're still using it, if there are hatchlings in it or what. However, it doesn't look too awfully old or torn up, despite a tropical storm having gone past a few weeks ago, so I'm assuming that means they're repairing it.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get a picture of them or of the nest--the Buckman bridge, besides being about 25 miles from where I live, is a no-pedestrian bridge with a speed limit of 65mph.

Now! If you're SERIOUSLY into bird watching and photography, my suggestion would be to wait until around 6-6:30pm and then try to drive the bridge. You will undoubtedly be on the bridge, almost stopped, for around half an hour. That will, in theory, leave you plenty of time to take pictures...of course, that's assuming you see the birds, and your camera has a good enough zoom. *laughs* And of course, assuming that you have the patience of a saint!

Or a boat. And a camera with really, really, really good zoom and shutter time....and hours to spend sitting on the boat, waiting.

XDD In any case, I figured I'd share. It's something I look forward to every day, to see if I can see them, and I thought I'd put it out there in case anybody here happens to live in the area.

Will update if I see babies or get photos!