Photographer’s Unique Photos Of Ospreys Hunting Is One Of The Most Unique Things You Will Ever See

These composites of photographs by a Chinese photographer of ospreys in hunting mode are awesome and unlike anything you’ve ever seen

The majestic osprey, also called the sea hawk, river hawk or fish hawk is a large raptor that can have a massive wingspan of 24 inches in length to 71 inches. It can tolerate a wide variety of habits and usually nests near water bodies. The osprey can be found on almost every continent except Antarctica. To watch an Osprey in action is amazing. It looks absolutely majestic when an osprey soars through a sky and diving right through into the water to catch a fish. To shoot an osprey in action takes the skills of an experienced photographer especially to shoot them when they are flying through the air. To get a creative shot of the osprey in the middle of hunting its prey takes a very creative photographer.

Photographer Chen Chengguang took some incredible pictures of ospreys in the middle of hunting

If there is one photographer who fits the bill perfectly, it’s Chen Chengguang, a Taiwanese photographer who takes the most artistic photos of birds. His series of photographs of ospreys in multiple shot action sequences is totally mesmerizing. Check out the best samples of his work below.

Chen uses a technique called chronophotography to create frame-by-frame composite images

Chen has virtually immortalized ospreys in these incredible photographs, the likes of whom you may have never seen before. He is a true master with the camera lens and the chronophotographs are mind-blowing.

Chen takes photos of ospreys diving towards their prey in several frames and then composites them onto a single image. The result as you can see is spectacular.

Phenomenal pictures

Chen’s Instagram page too is simply phenomenal and gorgeous. It seems he has been obsessed with photographing birds for a while and he says he wants to showcase them in the best light possible.

He says his work is full of toil, frustration and excitement but then it is worth it since he feels like an achiever.

Truly majestic

His ability for chrono photography is brilliant and his Instagram is followed by over 209K people. His shots are a unique take on bird photography unlike what others may have seen before. The shot are dashing, colorful and is definitely a beautiful and awesome way to showcase the beauty of birds.

After osprey catch fish, they orient them headfirst to minimize wind resistance

The unique thing about ospreys is that once they catch fish, they try to orient themselves head first so that wind resistance is minimized. The birds can live in the wild for 30 years as per National Geographic and are exclusively meat eaters.

Fish make up almost 99% of their daily diet and they don’t really bother about veggies.

Osprey have curved claws and pads on their feet that are perfect for catching fish

The bodies of ospreys are also uniquely built in relation to their hunting abilities. Their bodies are perfect for hunting fish. Their curved pads and claws on their feet give their prey very little chance to escape. As you can see from the other pictures, they are masters in catching their prey and their accuracy is amazing.

These birds’ diets consist of 99 percent fish

Ospreys dive to the water’s surface from 30 to 100 feet (9 to 30 meters) in the air. That’s incredible! What’s almost equally as cool is that when an osprey flies with a fish in its talons, it orients it headfirst to reduce wind resistance. Another unique aspect of ospreys is that they have such excellent vision that they can sight fish underwater from high up in the air.

The osprey was on the verge of extinction

In 1950, the osprey population was in danger in the USA because their natural habitats were being polluted with industrial chemicals. That challenge has been overcome by the resilient birds and their population has even increased in various locations.

They have unique features

The osprey and owls are the only raptors whose outer toe is reversible. This helps them to clutch their prey with two toes in front and two behind as they find this very helpful in catching fish. This feature has also puzzled taxonomists. Fossils of the middle Miocene Barstovian age found in the marine deposits in parts of Southern California have shown that at least two species of ospreys have gone extinct.

Chen’s photos received plenty of compliments

Chen has been complimented by thousands of his fans on social media because his photographs are like works of art. There is no doubt that you will never see such photographs of the majestic osprey the way that has been highlighted by Chen.