My photograph of an osprey eating a large fish atop a tree at Fort De Soto Park was selected for The Guardian’s “Week in Wildlife” gallery, published May 29, 2026. It was one of four of my images selected for the gallery that week, including the leading image that opened the entire gallery.
The Osprey at Fort De Soto Park
The osprey (Pandion haliaetus) is one of the most widely distributed raptors in the world, found on every continent except Antarctica. In Florida, it is a year-round resident and one of the most reliably photographed birds of prey at Fort De Soto Park in St. Petersburg.
The image published in The Guardian shows an osprey perched atop a tree, a large fish held firmly beneath its talons. This is a common scene at Fort De Soto, but it never becomes ordinary. The scale of the bird against the fish, the grip of the talons, and the stillness of the moment before feeding begins make it a compelling subject every time.
Ospreys are specialist fish hunters. Unlike most raptors, they feed almost exclusively on live fish, diving feet-first from heights of up to 30 meters to snatch prey from just below the surface. Their reversible outer toe and barbed foot pads give them an exceptional grip on wet, slippery fish. Once caught, the fish is carried headfirst to reduce wind resistance, then brought to a favorite perch to be eaten.
Fort De Soto’s waterways and shallow bays provide ideal fishing habitat. The park’s ospreys are active throughout the day, making them one of the most accessible large raptors to observe and photograph in the Tampa Bay area.
Why Fort De Soto Park Is One of the Best Locations for Osprey Photography in Florida
Fort De Soto Park sits at the southern tip of Pinellas County, where Tampa Bay meets the Gulf of Mexico. The combination of open water, shallow fishing grounds, tall trees, and nesting infrastructure makes it exceptional territory for osprey photography year-round.
Nesting pairs. Fort De Soto supports multiple active osprey nesting pairs. During the nesting season, typically November through April in Florida, activity around the nests is constant and predictable. Both parents hunt and return regularly, giving photographers extended opportunities to capture flight, landing, and feeding behavior.
Feeding perches. Ospreys at Fort De Soto return to the same trees and perches repeatedly after a successful catch. Once you identify a favored perch, you can position yourself for the best light and wait. The bird will come back.
Fishing dives. The open water around Fort De Soto’s causeways and fishing piers puts osprey hunting behavior in clear view. Watching a bird circle, hover, and dive is one of the most dramatic sequences in wildlife photography, and Fort De Soto gives you regular opportunities to witness it.
Approachable birds. Fort De Soto’s ospreys are accustomed to human presence. With a calm, unhurried approach, it is possible to photograph them at close range without flushing the bird from its perch.
Tips for Photographing the Osprey at Fort De Soto Park
Shoot during active fishing hours. Ospreys fish most actively in the morning and again in the late afternoon. Midday activity drops off, particularly in the warmer months. Plan your session accordingly.
Use the sun behind you. Osprey plumage is high contrast, with dark brown upperparts and bright white underparts. Even, directional light from behind the photographer renders both correctly without blowing out the white breast or losing detail in the dark back.
Be ready for the carry. An osprey in flight carrying a large fish is one of the most striking images in bird photography. Keep your shutter speed at 1/2500s or faster, use continuous autofocus, and track the bird from the moment it leaves the water.
Be patient at the nest. During nesting season, position yourself at a respectful distance from an active nest early in the morning. Both adults will leave and return multiple times during a session. The returns, when a bird drops into the nest with food or nesting material, give you predictable flight-to-landing sequences that are difficult to find anywhere else.
Osprey at Fort De Soto: Part of a Guardian Week in Wildlife Feature
This image was one of four of my photographs selected for The Guardian’s Week in Wildlife gallery published May 29, 2026, including the leading image that opened the entire gallery. All four subjects were photographed in Florida.
Read the full story behind all four images.
See More of My Published Work
This Guardian feature joins published work in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, National Geographic, BBC, TIME, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, and many others.
About Ronen Tivony
Ronen Tivony is a wildlife photojournalist and Florida Master Naturalist whose work has been published in The New York Times, The Guardian, CNN, National Geographic, BBC, TIME, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, and many others. He leads wildlife photography workshops and tours at Fort De Soto Park and across Florida year-round.