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I’ve never heard as much talk about the weather as I do here in the Northwest. Most people I meet do not like the drizzle, despite the fact that it’s an integral facet of living in a marine environment. For me, when the temperature starts to hit 80, I seek basement bunkers. Heat stroke cured me of sun worship. And then, living through years of Los Angeles water rationing and drought, I developed a love-love relationship with precipitation.<\/p>\n
Because of that, I have deep empathy for the wildlife enduring heat waves across the country right now. I read a post this morning about the Kalamazoo Ospreys, the ones with their own Facebook page<\/a>. The note said, in part:<\/p>\n “… how can the mom Osprey stay on the nest ALL day in this 100+ heat and direct sun as she shields her three chicks by spreading her wings to keep them from dying?”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n When you look at the open sites Ospreys choose for nesting, you can’t help but consider the environmental exposure and predatory dangers. But, the Seattle Ospreys<\/a> I’ve had the privilege to observe, are spared the worst of the meteorological assaults.<\/p>\n I found this video, shot this past June, of an Osprey parent in New Jersey, creating a canopy for her young who are panting in the heat and sun. I can’t imagine what that’s like for these birds … to sustain the behavior through a full day, let alone through prolonged periods of 100+ degrees. If this isn’t committed parenting …<\/p>\n