Showstopper

Showstopper

Noel Laflin

2-10-16

Sammy Rodriguez and I were yammering away when the massive shadow glided across the grass, halting our conversation in mid-sentence.  It was a showstopper of a moment.

Out of the corner of my eye I spied a large black and white osprey swooping up the slope and landing atop a large sycamore standing directly before us. There are dozens of these beautiful shade trees scattered across the hillsides of our little park and pond out this way in East El Modena - and this fellow chose the tallest.

And there he stayed, the osprey that is, for the next fifteen minutes or so, as I quietly moved about the grass and pathway straining for the perfect photo.

Sam eventually headed for home and I made myself comfortable, squatting low with my back against the pond’s fence, still aiming up and away.  I clicked off a hundred frames, at least. There wasn't another soul in sight.  I reveled in my good fortune.

I got off one last lucky shot as the bird prepared to jump, gracefully lifting itself into a smooth glide, heading due north.  He flew directly over the head of a fellow jogging up the path – the only other human to share in this magical moment. He later told me that it was the massive shadow that caused him to look skyward as well.

 

Now, I have seen Cooper’s hawks, an American kestrel, herons of all sorts, cormorants, and even egrets all land in this very tree – but never an osprey.

I have begun to picture the day when I’ll bear witness to a bald eagle landing in this old sycamore, checking out our little waterway.

 

One can only hope.