Honestly, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

Ospreys?? In Lethbridge, Alberta?? Whaaaa…???

But there they were, a breeding pair of ospreys keeping a nest on a nest platform right in the middle of one of the windy, prairie cities of Alberta: Lethbridge. Holy schmoligans!!

Why Lethbridge, and how did I find them? Well, this was in the middle of some agriculture crop plots that are owned, operated, and managed by Ag Canada’s Lethbridge Research Station. I was there with several other hired research assistants with the University of Alberta to take multiple soil samples for a research project that the graduate student accompanying us was working on. None of us expected to see a pair of ospreys when we arrived there! 

They were rather distracting, have to say! But a pleasure to see. They were most likely there because of the ample hunting opportunities the pair had with the multitude of gophers, mice and other prey only they could spot from their lofty platform. 

Taken on July 14, 2015, with my Canon Rebel XS plus Canon EF 70-300mm ƒ4-5.6 IS USM telephoto lens.