June 24: Pairs

Our drive down the coast from Camden to South Portland was punctuated by the sight of quite a few pairs of ospreys. Every time we approached a body of water--the St. George River, Sherman Lake, Great Salt Bay in Damariscotta, Back Bay in Portland--we'd see the brown and white fish hawks circling overhead. In Bath, we saw one on the nest in the Route One median strip. We even watched a couple of ospreys flying together over Portland harbor from our outside table at El Rayo, a Mexican restaurant in Portland. (We also noted, roadside, one bald eagle, two red-tails, and two broad-winged hawks.)

The year's young are hatched out and growing fast in the nests, so parent birds are fishing for more than themselves now. The sacrifices of parenthood take on a different perspective when they involve spending all your waking hours flying over the water and catching fish.

Blue sky, blue water--
ospreys best enjoy both realms
fishing together.