On a little break from Corvid-19 yesterday I was out in our yard social isolating when I noticed an osprey gracefully circling over the marsh that lies between us and the Wicomico River. It made several passes at the tree line just over my head then flew to a height and dove towards the tree at full throttle, talons extended, as if it were diving on a rabbit in the field. Then, a loud crack sounding almost like gunfire. Slack-jawed I watched as her wings beat to lift her up from the tree with a 6 foot branch. I always assumed they gathered branches from the ground. No, she had carefully selected a dead branch from amongst those with buds and skillfully snapped it off.
Picture snatched from WNPR. Photo credit Patrick Comins, CT Audubon
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