On the Henrys Fork near Last Chance, we were visiting with two Maryland anglers when we saw an osprey fly down the river.
We saw the fishing bird begin to sally through the air, find a fish, and dive for it. One of the fishermen remarked, “It was more successful than we were last night,” as it fought out of the water while completely submerged and holding a fish in its talons.
As the bird ate the fish on a fence post, the fisherman departed, and I kept searching for more birds. I saw movement on one of the logs while observing several gulls near a log jam.
In the shallows, the movement was identified as an immature black-crowned night heron catching a little fish. After thoroughly examining the log jam, I eventually located the two parents and another juvenile heron.
Between the children and the other adult, the one who looked like the mother began to fly back and forth. They were all eating big aquatic insects and minnows for breakfast.
A family of four Caspian terns and two Belted kingfishers flew upriver from Harriman State Park as I was observing the herons.
Although I didn’t witness any of them trying to catch any fish, I figured they would all be trying because both species enjoy eating them.
I was late for an engagement to deliver fishing flies to the Drift Lodge on Henrys Lake Flat because I was preoccupied with the birds for too long.
I had some spare time after finishing my work, so I parked into the fishermen’s parking lot close to Last Chance once more on my way home.
Even though it was getting hot, the herons were still present, and one of the juveniles flew ten feet or so before clumsily landing on another wood.
When an osprey passed by and captured another fish, it chose to go toward the nearby nest, where two young were waiting for it, rather than consuming it.
I watched them for a few minutes before deciding to pause at Harriman State Park’s Silver Lake, where I noticed two family groups of Double-crested cormorants diving for fish right away.
Before devouring the unfortunate fish, one of the children was putting a lot of effort into killing the small minnow.
I love to stop at Silver Lake every time I visit Island Park, relax at a picnic table by the lake, and shoot photos of the birds and other wildlife.
