Osprey Cam Web Log 2007

The Male Osprey

We wanted to update our cam watchers on what is happening at the Blackwater nest and also at several other cam nests now that hatching season has arrived.

First, be sure to check out the Connecticut Audubon Osprey Cam where they apparently have two chicks. Note that they had four eggs in total. Folks have reported seeing the male osprey feeding the female, and we've also heard that sometimes the mother takes the food from the male then passes it to the chicks. This couple is an entertaining pair to watch; in fact they're the ones that brought the blue teddy bear to the nest last year.

Also, the Wilmington, North Carolina Osprey Cam has chicks. Unfortunately it appears that not long after hatching, one of the birds sprayed the lens with whitewash, but a good rain might clear that up.

In Kentucky, they have three chicks on their Osprey Cam now. They appear to be the oldest chicks among the cams we've covered.

And here's another Finnish Osprey Cam for you to check out. Three eggs were laid at the beginning of May, so keep an eye on that one. Quite an amazing view.

And finally, you can keep an eye on the ever-colorful EJ and Henry at the Osprey Cam in Loch Garten Scotland, where EJ has amazingly laid a full second clutch of eggs.

Our Male? A New Male?

Here at Blackwater Refuge, we're slowly resigning ourselves to the reality that we will be seeing our first chickless summer since we came online in 2001. As I mentioned on the cam page a few days ago, the day after our resident female's three eggs were punctured by a crow, a male was seen on the nest. This could have been the male that photographer Bob Quinn saw sitting in the marsh across the road from the Osprey Cam on the day we lost the eggs. Around the time the male returned, we saw the intruder female making new attempts to get on the nest.

So the obvious question is: Is this our missing male and has he taken up with the new female, thus abandoning our resident female and their eggs? We had mentioned in an earlier web log that normally ospreys mate for life and are extremely loyal to their nests. But biologists are aware that sometimes osprey males will take up with a second female at a second nest.

But our male had a good mate and they had successfully defended their nest and produced three seemingly healthy eggs, so why would the second female be any attraction, especially if she didn't even have a nest of her own? We honestly don't know. But if this is our male, he has obviously lost interest in raising chicks with the original female. Maybe the aggressiveness of the intruder female played a part in our male jumping ship.

Our resident female does appear to still be defending the nest from the intruder female, so we are still seeing tension at the nest. Our friend Georgena Terry was at Blackwater Refuge for a bike tour this week, and captured this photo showing what appears to be the resident female in the nest and the intruder on the camera arm. The intruder has a slightly more noticeable necklace (brown coloring) on her chest, and that is about the only way we can tell the difference between the females.

At some point, these three ospreys will have to work it out amongst themselves as to who is a couple and who belongs at the nest. They might do it by the end of this season or it might not be settled until next year when the first birds back will be able to claim the nest.

All we can say is that if this is in fact our male, we hope our poor resident female manages to find a new "hubby" because this bird is not a good partner, and she needs to find a male that will be a dependable provider for her chicks.

Even though we will not have chicks at the Blackwater Refuge cam, we'll continue to leave the cam online throughout the summer and fall so we can watch any bird life that hangs out there. I'll also keep the Osprey Cam Web Log running for a little while longer as we follow the action here and at other osprey cams.

Until next time,
Lisa - webmaster
(contact)

No Chicks

Well, this will go down as the strangest year we've had in our seven years with the Blackwater Osprey Cam. Thank goodness every year isn't like this.

As of last Sunday, we have not seen a definite sign of our second adult, which we believe to be the father osprey. The female osprey on the nest had been alone all week with no apparent help in incubating or finding fish. The mother dutifully stayed with the eggs for most of the week, doing very little eating, bathing or preening. On Friday afternoon she seemed to be tiring as she stayed off the eggs for many hours in the afternoon, diminishing the chances that they would hatch. On Saturday morning, she was off of the eggs again, in rather cool weather, and this time she actually left the nest area (possibly to feed). During this time, local birds noticed the eggs, and the female returned to chase them off. But then when she left the second time, a crow came in and quickly punctured all three eggs.

To be honest, I don't think the eggs were viable at that point anyway, but it was still hard to watch the crow take out each egg. And no one can blame the female for needing to take care of herself; she was in an impossible situation. If she did manage to hatch any of the eggs, it would have been even more difficult to watch her struggle to keep the chicks warm and also feed them by herself.

Some cam watchers asked if we would ever intervene. Normally we do not, since we like to treat the cam nests as if we are not watching them, thus letting nature take its course. But our ranger did tell me yesterday that if the eggs had hatched, we might have looked around for ways to re-nest the young either ourselves or through a local group like Tri-State Bird Rescue, even though we have never had to deal with this problem before and would have been striking new ground.

In the end, what happened may have been for the best if the father osprey was not going to return to help. Osprey eggs and chicks need two parents for a reason, and that is because one adult cannot protect the young and keep them warm while also chasing off intruders and looking for food. It's just too much for one bird.

We don't know what happened to the male osprey. We do know the intruder bird is still around, so it's possible the male was hurt in a battle with the intruder. Also birds do perish for various reasons -- West Nile virus, bird flu, and other diseases and ailments. Sometimes ospreys drown when fishing, such as when they get tangled up in fishing line that someone has thoughtlessly left in the water.

But what makes us think the male may have been hurt or killed is that the male was not around to help with the eggs. As we mentioned before, on somewhat rare occasions a male osprey might take up a second family, but it is unusual for him to abandon his other nest, mate and eggs altogether. He has too much invested in the home nest to do this -- especially considering how hard our male had to fight to keep the cam nest after the intruder appeared. And ospreys are known for being exceedingly loyal to their nests. This makes us wonder if something might have happened to the father to prevent him from returning.

But I'll throw a further wrench into the dilemma: Yesterday local photographer Bob Quinn was at the cam nest photographing some of the action. He saw a male and second female near the nest. They were flying over the platform but not landing on it. Bob says that one bird had a fish and the other was chasing it. The bird being chased looked female and the other bird looked male. The male landed on a post in the marsh on the opposite side of the road near the Osprey Cam. You can see the photos here.

While this female could be the intruder female that has been such a pain most of the season, who is the male? It seems highly unlikely it would be our male since it would not sit there ignoring our female calling for food, ignoring his eggs, and ignoring the crow that attacked them. So is it a male that has been attracted to our female by her calls for food and her lack of a mate? We just don't know, and we'll never really know all that happened, so the best we can do now is look ahead.

As for the rest of the season, our female is not likely to lay any more eggs -- it's late in the season and second clutches are rare, even if she managed to copulate again with a male. Individual ospreys that do not have a family often wander around their home area and even leave early for migration, but our female has ties to this nest, so she might feel an obligation to remain there for most of the summer, defending the nest from other ospreys and from opportunistic eagles. She might even be able to bond with another male before she migrates, but we'll just have to wait and see what develops.

For those who are new to our Osprey Cam and have not had the fun of watching osprey chicks in action, I wanted to share some links to videos that we posted last year when we had our record four osprey chicks. Here you can see what osprey chicks look like when they're young and when they begin to fledge. Note that on the last set of videos, the view is a little blurry -- we had a big problem with poop hitting the camera lens last year, since we had so many osprey bodies in the nest. :-)

Archives 1
Archives 2
Archives 3

Hopefully next year we will return to a normal osprey nesting season. Our Osprey Cam nest has had a good run of seeing many chicks fledge, so we know there will be better seasons ahead.

Happier Osprey News:

And now for some happier osprey news: EJ -- at the famous Loch Garten osprey nest in Scotland -- has now laid a full second clutch, which means seven eggs in total this year!! This is one record-setting osprey mom. As you remember, EJ had to lay another clutch after her late-arriving mate kicked out the eggs she had laid with another male. Maybe we should rename their cam "All My Eggs" -- after the famous American soap opera "All My Children." :-)

Also, I wanted to point out two new osprey cams that are online. The first Osprey Cam is based in Pine County, Minnesota where they have three eggs. Note that for this streaming video cam you need a broadband connection and Internet Explorer. Also, the Osprey Cam at the Montezuma Wetlands Complex in upstate New York is now live and we've been told it has three eggs. Good luck to those nests!

Osprey Platforms:

One of our cam watchers, Laura Cortner, sent in an interesting photo along with a wonderful story. In Eugene, Oregon, an osprey couple had built a nest on one of the local university's stadium lights. After the ospreys migrated and the football season began, the heat from the lights ignited the nest thus destroying it (fortunately while the ospreys were not there). With pressure from Laura and the local Raptor Center, the ospreys got a safer home in the spot where they wanted to nest. Click on the thumbnail to the right -- this is their new home and it seems to suit them just fine.

And this brings up a topic I'm asked about often by people who live near water -- the topic being "How do you construct osprey platforms?" Here you can read a web log entry I posted in a previous season discussing osprey platforms (over both land and water) and how you can find plans for building them. Unfortunately humans have taken down many of the trees that ospreys would have nested in naturally along the coast and other water areas, so human-made osprey platforms are often in big demand. In fact, the revival of osprey populations after their collapse from the pesticide DDT is often attributed to the fact that humans put up so many artificial nesting platforms for ospreys and that ospreys were so willing to use them.

If you aren't comfortable with building your own, check with your state Department of Natural Resources or your local Audubon chapter, and they might be able to put you in touch with an organization that will construct one for you. Also, if you plan to put a platform in the water, be sure to check with your state DNR to see if you need a special permit.

A few things to keep in mind about an osprey platform: The ospreys like to be on the tallest structure around since they like a clear view of the sky, but if they're over water, they will settle for a lower structure (since there are no land predators). Also ospreys catch their fish near the surface, so they like to live near water that is shallow enough for them to find food. It might take ospreys a season or two for them to adopt your nest, but once they do, they tend to be very loyal to their home, migrating back to it year after year.

Until next time,
Lisa - webmaster
(contact)

Missing Adult

I wanted to post a quick note since folks have been concerned about the family. I was at the Refuge on Sunday and both parents were there quite a lot in the morning. In the afternoon, it appeared that one parent was not there so much and it has been that way since.

It's hard to tell the difference between our two parents since the female has a very light necklace, but we think the bird currently on the nest is the female.

The mother has been incubating and occasionally catching a fish for herself from what we can tell. She's trying not to leave the eggs alone for long, but this isn't an ideal situation. An osprey couple are supposed to work together -- one incubating and protecting the eggs while the other is chasing off intruders and fishing. They might switch these roles on occasion, but both of them are needed since it's hard for one bird to do it all.

We've asked the volunteers and staff at the Refuge Visitor Center to keep an eye out for a second bird around the nest. They can see the live monitor at the Center and can also see the nest through the observation window on the second floor.

Right now we would feel better if we could see or hear that a second bird is around the nest even if he's not spending a lot of time there.

Sometimes male ospreys will take on a second family and split their time between the two nests. This isn't a normal occurrence but it does happen -- usually with one nest getting the short end of things. Also on rare occasions, males just up and disappear for a couple days, leaving the females on their own, but they do return. And finally sometimes something physically happens to the male to prevent him from tending the nest.

Biologists have observed that a female osprey will call out to other males if hers is not around to provide food. If another male is available, sometimes that male could "take over" a nest and become the partner, but you have to have an available osprey for that to happen.

We are hoping that the second bird will show up soon as it will be nearly impossible for one bird to do all the work needed. The eggs have to be kept at a certain temperature for the embryos to develop properly. Also an adult needs to take a break to eat and to preen their feathers, so they are properly maintained. Finally leaving the eggs alone invites predators.

So that's where we are now. We're just waiting for a glimpse of a second adult that lets us know we still have a couple tending the eggs.

If this goes on for a long time without a second parent, at some point the single adult might abandon the eggs or have to leave them alone for so long that the embryos will not develop properly for hatching.

We'll post any news on the cam page as soon as we hear anything. Thanks for staying with us during this very trying osprey season. :-)

Until next time,
Lisa - webmaster
(contact)

Second and Third Eggs

We now have our second and third eggs! Normally osprey clutches are two to three eggs in size, so we're very pleased with the size of the current clutch. If a fourth egg does come (and sometimes they do), it could arrive on Saturday or Sunday. Personally I'd rather the ospreys stopped at three because they started nesting so late. If a fourth egg was laid and the chick managed to survive in the nest, it would have little time to build up its flying/fishing skills before migration season in September.

For those keeping track, here is our 2007 scorecard:

1st egg
Laid: 5/4/7
Possible Hatch: 6/11 or 12

2nd egg
Laid: 5/7/7
Possible Hatch: 6/14 or 15

3rd egg
Laid: 5/10/7
Possible Hatch: 6/17 or 18

On May 7, we heard from a volunteer who was at the Refuge, and they said that an osprey did make a dive at the nest while the mother was sitting on the first egg, but the father was able to chase it away. So right now we’re feeling good about our parents and their ability to defend the nest.

Miscellaneous News:

I also wanted to pass along some miscellaneous osprey news. We have word from the famous osprey nest at Loch Garten in Scotland that EJ has laid the first egg in her second clutch. If you remember, her mate Henry had returned late from migration to find eggs already in their nest (after EJ mated with another). Henry then kicked the eggs out since they were not his, and we've been waiting to see if poor EJ could produce another set, even though second clutches are pretty rare. But now it looks like she's on her way. What a bird!

Technical News:

And now some technical talk: Folks have asked about the Osprey Cam refresh time on our website. We plan to shorten the refresh time right before the eggs will likely hatch. The reason we have to juggle the cam times is because our satellite dish company limits how much traffic we can upload in a given week from both cams. If we go over that limit, they shut us down, so we have to be careful with our refresh times, and since the eaglets are close to fledging, we don't want to alter their cam time right now. Note that this is not related to how many people are watching -- it just relates to how many individual images we upload each minute from our dish. Once the osprey-egg hatching is closer, the eaglets will be spending less time at the Eagle Cam nest, so we will extend the Eagle Cam time a bit so we can shorten the Osprey Cam time.

Also, I wanted to mention that our Friends of Blackwater cam technician has left for Italy. He'll be gone for two weeks, so keep your fingers crossed that we don't have any major equipment malfunctions in the field. :-)

International Migratory Bird Day:

On May 12, many countries around the world will celebrate International Migratory Bird Day, which is a time when people can learn more about the unique needs of migratory birds. At Blackwater Refuge on May 12, we will be holding a free Bird Walk at 8am and a free Eagle Prowl at 10am at our Visitor Center, and we welcome those who will be in the area.

Ospreys in the Chesapeake Bay region (where Blackwater Refuge is located) are migratory birds, with most of them migrating to Central or South America sometime in late August or September. When our ospreys migrate, they will do so separately, and while the parents will return next March, the chicks will stay down south for an additional year before returning to Blackwater to breed.

The theme for the 2007 International Migratory Bird Day is "Birds in a Changing Climate." The reason for this theme is because while much press is being given to how global warming -- or climate change -- will affect people, not as much time is spent talking about what rising temperatures will mean for migratory birds.

Global warming presents many challenges to birds as they try to adapt to warming trends that appear to be occurring at a very fast rate. Some items to consider are the following:

• A warmer planet will intensify droughts and increase the number of forest fires, which burn habitat used by birds


• Rising temperatures will increase glacial melting, which will make sea levels rise and flood wetland areas where birds and other wildlife raise their young.


• According to a report by Cornell University, spring is now arriving a week earlier than it did 40 years ago in the northeastern United States, and while this extends the growing season for farmers, it could disrupt the symbiotic relationship that birds have with breeding insects and flowering plants, as migratory birds often time their return to coincide with the availability of the local food population.


• The increase in carbon dioxide pollution is turning the oceans more acidic and is beginning to reduce marine populations, which will diminish the food supply of coastal and ocean birds.


• The ranges of some state birds could shrink or shift outside the states they represent. For example, as many as 33 states could see significant reductions in American Goldfinches in the summer, and at some point Baltimore Orioles may no longer be found in Maryland. Ultimately some songbird species will not be able to adapt and will die out.


• If temperatures increase enough, certain bird species will stop migrating altogether during the winter, which could lead to increased competition for food in their breeding territories.

In global warming circles, Blackwater Refuge is a bit of a celebrity -- but not in a positive way. The reason for this is because Blackwater Refuge is considered one of the prime examples of how a warming planet can impact coastal areas. The current rate of sea-level rise in the Chesapeake Bay is three times the historical rate and appears to be accelerating. Since 1938, about one-third of the marsh at Blackwater Refuge has disappeared or been "claimed" by the Chesapeake Bay and surrounding waters. The aerial shots of Blackwater Refuge below give you a vivid image of how much marsh was lost to open water from between 1938 and 1989.

This marsh loss has been brought on by several factors including subsidence (gradual land sinking); erosion; invasion by a non-native, marsh-destroying rodent called nutria; and by rising sea levels.

The U.S. Geological Survey has studied the effect of sea level rise in the Blackwater Refuge area and the model developed for their assessment forecasts that most of the Refuge will be in open water in approximately 50 years.

So what can be done to save the marshland? The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, along with a collection of partner agencies, have worked hard to remove the nutria (which were introduced before the Refuge was established), and are now working to restore the marsh plants that were eaten by the rodents. In addition, the USFWS is also working with local officials to find funding to bring in safe dredged material to build up the wetlands so they will be less susceptible to the rising Bay -- something that has proven to be successful in the past. But these types of projects are very expensive, and conservation money these days is in short supply throughout the country.

Further complicating the situation is the rapid pace at which warming is occurring. According to the U.S. Geological Survey study, "The projected rates of inundation due to sea level rise are thought to exceed the capability of the ecosystems to respond to increasing water depth and salinity, thus limiting the availability of critical habitat and triggering a need for expensive engineered schemes for restoration."

The point of sharing this information is not to depress our cam watchers, but to point out that we are seeing the effects of global warming around us right now, and it's time for nations, industries, and individuals to take meaningful action to slow global warming. Even if birds and other wildlife can physically adapt to the changing temperatures, the ecosystems where they breed and raise their young might undergo such drastic changes that the wildlife can no longer live there. And as humans move into more areas that were once wild, it means wildlife will have fewer options when it comes to finding a new home. Patricia Glick, an expert on climate change with the National Wildlife Federation, sums it up best: "Climate change on top of fragmented habitat is the straw that breaks the camel's back."

Below are several links that offer some additional information if you'd like to learn more about the problems and the possible solutions:

• Global Warming and Birds - Audubon PDF fact sheet


• Birds in a Changing Climate - Int'l Migratory Bird Day PDF fact sheet


• Climate Change, Wildlife, and Wildlands - a PDF fact sheet that covers climate change in the Chesapeake Bay region and at Blackwater Refuge, and also discusses what can be done.


• Habitat Displacement and Sea-Level Change: The Blackwater Model

Until next time,
Lisa - webmaster
(contact)

Another Chance for an Egg

It looks like we have a nesting season! To recap for those who are just joining us: Back on April 13 the first egg appeared in our cam platform nest, but after it arrived, neither parent seemed interested in incubating it. While I was at the Refuge that day, I saw a second female osprey harassing the resident couple (you can see a video and read more about it here).

During the day on April 14, much fighting went on between the three birds around the cam nest, and during that time the egg was pretty much ignored. Finally a group of crows came into the nest while the ospreys were gone and cracked the egg and ate its liquid contents.

Since that time, no new eggs had appeared and the couple seemed to still have an ongoing problem with the third female, since we could see cam photos where the ospreys were diving at one another. As recently as April 19, we saw three ospreys actually sitting together for a brief moment on the nest, seeming to indicate the third bird was still around. Despite this intrusive activity, our resident couple continued to build up the nest and engage in mating behavior, so we held out hope they could get the intruder to leave and get on with nesting.

Finally on the evening of May 4, we got lucky and an egg appeared. This time the couple did not ignore it but began incubation immediately. Also during this time we did not see any signs of fighting or strange ospreys sitting on the nest.

Based on what we've observed, there is a possibility that the first egg belonged to the intruding female, as that would explain why the resident pair ignored the egg in the nest. Biologists have reported that some intruding females are actually birds looking for a place to lay their egg. If the female had lost her mate or her nest, she might have been driven to find another. Or it's possible she mated with a male whose mate was late returning from migration, and once that tardy mate returned, the male moved on, leaving the first female without a nest.

We will never know the full details of what happened, but we feel forunate to finally have an egg and a pair that seems willing to take care of it. In 2005, we had an egg laid on this same date -- May 4; that was the latest we had seen an egg laid on the platform and that chick went on to hatch and fledge. If our pair is going to lay another egg, it could come on May 6 or more likely on May 7. Most of our eggs have been three days apart at the cam platform.

Right now we hope that we get two eggs, since it would be good to have one for insurance in case the first is infertile. Three eggs would be exciting, but the last chick would have to rush to prepare for migration. As it is, any eggs now are a few weeks behind the rest of the osprey nests in the region, so two eggs would probably be a better amount with this late start to the season.

For our first egg, we would expect to see hatching around June 11 or 12, since most of our cam eggs have hatched on the 38th or 39th day of incubation.

An osprey egg is about the size of a large hen's egg and can come in different shades of tan and brown, as you can see here in this photo from the Connecticut Audubon Osprey Cam nest. Osprey eggs are admired for their beauty and variety and have been called the most beautiful of hawks' eggs. Unfortunately this admiration led to massive egg stealing in places like Britain, where egg theft and speciman collecting actually made the ospreys extinct in that region for many years. Ospreys were last recorded breeding in England in 1840 and the last United Kingdom breeding pair was destroyed in Scotland in 1916. In 1954, a pair finally returned to Scotland, and since then the ospreys have slowly begun to reestablish their populations in the United Kingdom with much help from local osprey supporters who still have to guard many of the nests from egg thieves.

We wish our osprey couple the best of luck with their nesting season. We really hope we have at least one chick to watch this summer because ospreys are very entertaining and intelligent birds that bring a lot of joy to those who follow them.

Until next time,
Lisa - webmaster
(contact)

Gallery Update

The first thing I wanted to mention in this web log entry is an osprey cam that I forgot to include in the last web log post when I talked about other osprey nests on the Web. This beautiful osprey cam is located in Finland and has perhaps the best view of any osprey nest I've seen. Here is a photo of the locale during the nesting season, when the view is breathtaking. And on the flipside, a photo of the nest during the winter season. Still impressive, but now we see why ospreys migrate. :-)

I also wanted to mention an Ohio Peregrine Falcon Cam that one of our cam watchers alerted me to. The birds are getting very close to egg hatching, so be sure to check out this attractive site.

Gallery Update:

I posted an Osprey Gallery update today and it includes many interesting shots of the mini-soap opera that we have going on at our nest. It's clear that the couple at the nest is trying very hard to proceed with further egg laying but it remains to be seen if they'll be successful. In case you're joining us late, competition from a third osprey doomed the couple's first egg, so now we're in "wait mode" as we patiently watch to see if our couple can re-group and make another attempt.

In the Gallery, we see lots of positive activity such as mating, nest building, and even the female molding the nest cup for a possible egg.

But mixed in with these photos are more signs of unrest: ospreys diving, ospreys ducking, and even one amazing shot where all three competing ospreys were briefly on the nest together.

So what does all this mean for our eggs? I actually have no idea.

I still think we might see an egg or two if the couple keeps up their current activity as seen in the Gallery. But it's hard to say if any future eggs will survive if the third osprey keeps harassing the resident couple. So right now we're just taking the nest one day at a time, and we hope that at some point, the third osprey will tire of fighting and leave our couple alone.

Some cam watchers have asked if there is a last-possible-date for egg laying. One year we did have ospreys lay eggs in early May, but that was the latest we've seen, so I would guess that we would need eggs by the end of May if we're going to see a family this year.

Paddling at Blackwater:

Now that warmer weather is here, I wanted to talk a little about the paddling trails at Blackwater Refuge. Many folks might not realize that the Refuge has three paddling trails that visitors can use to explore the more hidden areas of Blackwater. In fact in 2006, our trails earned the title of "Recommended Water Trails for 2006" by the American Canoe Association.

While we don't rent canoes/kayaks at the Refuge, there are several outfitters nearby that will rent to you. And if you are new to paddling and want some guidance, these outfitters can also offer you a guided trip for a fee (scroll to the bottom of our Paddling page to find the outfitters' contact information).

If you are paddling on your own, we do recommend that you get a paddling map from our online store (or from our Visitor Center store at the Refuge) as the marsh grass can make navigating a challenge, and cell phones don't often work out in the marsh. And although the water on the trails is often shallow, we do encourage you to stay in your boat as the wet muck can be very difficult to walk in if you try to exit your boat while out in the marsh.

The Friends of Blackwater created these paddling trails because much of Blackwater Refuge is wetlands, and paddling is sometimes the best way to see wildlife up-close. The spring and early summer are an especially good time to paddle as the plants are in bloom and ospreys and eagles are often flying about. Since birds don't usually see people on the water, and since paddling is a quiet means of transportation, you can frequently sneak up on birds and other wildlife that would not normally let you get so close. And if you are really lucky, you might even see a raptor fishing out on the water.

Robert Woodard, Patty String, and Frank Lineberger are three kayakers who have paddled the trails at Blackwater Refuge and were kind enough to share their photos with me. I've posted several of their images below, so click on the thumbnails to get a taste of how the wetlands and wildlife look from one of our paddling trails.

If you'd like to learn more about the trails, be sure to visit the Paddling page on our website.

Until next time,
Lisa - webmaster
(contact)