My plan was actually to continue my "River stories" with some new pictures from the Sandhill Cranes at the Mississippi River. The cranes obviously didn't know about what I had in mind and decided to spend the night somewhere else... :-( I waited in my kayak for almost an hour during sunset time at the place where I had seen them before three times. After the sun had disappeared I heard their call somewhere in my back between the water lilies and reeds. At least it was good to know that they were somewhere around.
Before that I paddled down the backwater channel and enjoyed watching a Great Blue Heron hunting for fish. I worked for quite some time with this bird but despite real "killer light" my keeper rate was not very good today. I experimented with different ways to focus but obviously not all of them passed the test...
Back at the boat ramp and in the actual Mud Lake Park I saw three young Ospreys sitting on the tower, where they obviously still spend the night. Earlier I saw one of them sitting on a log with a big piece of fish. Unfortunately this picture didn't turn out sharp. I don't believe the bird had caught the fish itself. It is probably still depending on being fed. Hopefully this will change soon and the young Ospreys can support themselves before they migrate south.