We think the baby ospreys are here. Mama and Papa perch on the edge of the nest. They make little darting motions with their heads, as if they're feeding or or grooming their chicks.
Mama, who's been nestbound for some weeks, spreads her great black-and-white wings. She takes off and tries a quick splashdown before circling the nesting platform and landing in a nearby tree. When she's confident that Papa has the situation under control, she flaps away downriver. At last! Girls' Night Out!
Papa babysits. He looks into the nest, then up into the sky, then back into the nest. When night falls, Papa is still keeping his solitary vigil.
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Follow a pair of ospreys as they arrive at their summer home by the Chesapeake Bay, mate, hatch and raise chicks. c. 2010 Marcia G. Moore
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