Entangled
by AnnaJo Vahle
Title
Entangled
Artist
AnnaJo Vahle
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
Our friends and I were enjoying a nice dinner at a restaurant on the Indian River in Titusville, Florida. We had a beautiful waterfront view. At the end of our meal, we noticed a big kerfuffle going on at the end of the pier. It was an osprey struggling to stay afloat. He/she was flailing wildly. One of the waiters jumped in and removed some of the fishing line that was wrapped all around it. It was enough to allow the panicked bird to struggle to the rocks along the shore. His/her mate periodically flew close to see the situation.
The osprey clambered up on a rock. He/she appeared to be totally exhausted and didn't seem able to fly. I grabbed my camera and went up close to better see the situation. Sadly, we could see that the noble fish hawk was still entangled with fishing line. A call was made to the local wildlife rescue organization. They were still on their way, when we left. I was assured by the restaurant staff that the raptor wouldn't be left to fend on it's own. As we drove away, the mate circled above the helpless mate.
The osprey, also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than 60 cm in length and 180 cm across the wings. It is brown on the upper parts and predominantly grayish on the head and underparts.
Uploaded
July 17th, 2022
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Comments (29)
Greta Foose
A great capture of a situation that happens all too frequently, I am so glad there were those who were willing and able to help.
Gary F Richards
Poor thing! Spectacular Entangled composition, lighting, shading, lovely colors and artwork! F/L voted
Don Columbus
Congratulations, your work is Featured in "Birds In Focus" I invite you to place it in the group's "2020-2022 Featured Image Archive Discussion"!
Sharon W
Wow, what a story! And a super phenomenal capture! Hope this poor guy was helped and freed!
AnnaJo Vahle replied:
I hope so too, Sharon. I keep meaning to go back to the restaurant to find out about it. However, I am fairly sure that it was rescued.
Don Columbus
Congratulations, your work is Featured in "A Birding Group - Wings" I invite you to place it in the group's "2020-2022 Featured Image Archive" Discussion!!
Morris Finkelstein
Great photo with wonderful timing, pose, clarity, Photo Description, and composition, Anna Jo! As wild and independent as animals are, sometimes they need human help to survive! F/L
AnnaJo Vahle replied:
Thank you, Morris. It was human carelessness with all the fishing line that caused the problem. Makes me sad,
Beverly Guilliams
Wonderful Capture...Glad you made the call for help.....We all love our birds......v.
CAROLE SPANDAU
Your artwork has been featured on the homepage of FAA Gallery Home For All Artists Who Create. Please post your amazing artwork in our` Archive your July Features` discussion.
Dawn Currie
Congratulations! This fine image of an identified wild bird is among the features for 7/23/2022! Thank you for sharing with the Wild Birds of the World - A Nature Photography Group. Please take a moment to add it to the June-July 2022 Features discussion for additional visibility.
Allison Constantino
Oh, my! I'm so glad you were able to contact the local wildlife rescue organization to come to the aid of this unfortunate osprey. Absolutely heart-wrenching to see. I've added your amazing image to the "Environmental Art - Specifically Ocean Conservation" home page.
Charles Robinson
How sad. It so sad to see a bird entangled in line. It is a situation that should not have happened.
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