Birds...

Salem and I walked around the path at Union Bay Horticultural Center this morning - another blessedly gorgeous day with clear blue skies. 

There was an article in the paper today about a pair of ospreys and the two chicks they had last summer who both died. It was a sad story. The main problem apparently was that the parents couldn't get them enough food partially because the resident eagle pair and the crows harried the male osprey a lot, causing him to drop the fish he caught. One chick just kind of disappeared and the second one couldn't get himself off the ground after it tried to fledge. A rescue team picked him up but he died later. Sigh.

Today, I saw one of those eagles up in tree (extra). He is huge. And there was a crow up in the osprey nest. Not sure what it's doing up in there though. Then around the bend I spotted this heron and managed to catch a pair of wood ducks paddling by. 

Everybody who sees Salem gets a smile on their face. She is so cute and friendly-looking.