New Family Spotted for a Picture-Perfect Morning in Washington

Sometimes, the natural scenery driving along Washington highways gives us a glimpse of pure magic.

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Last Wednesday, a WSDOT East team was out updating traffic cameras in the beautiful Wenatchee Valley and caught two unexpected stars of the morning on camera.

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New Osprey Parents are on the Lookout

At one site, a pair of ospreys perched proudly on their nest that was balanced impressively on an old wooden railing. It looks like it could tip over at any minute, but of course it doesn't.

While you can not see any chicks in this nest from the photos, the adults looked perfectly healthy with their sleek feathers catching the morning light. It almost looks like they were posing, because they don’t seem to have a bad angle.

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WSDOT Finds Second Nest with a View, and a Family

Not far away, the crews spotted another osprey couple that had set up their nest high on top of a man-made platform. This nest was bustling with life, with three little chicks poking their fuzzy heads out from the nest made of sturdy branches.

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Ospreys are large raptors, sometimes called “fish hawks�� because their diet is almost exclusively fish. They have wingspans reaching up to six feet, and are very powerful fliers and skilled hunters.

Unlike many birds of prey, ospreys are found near lakes, rivers, and coastal areas all around the world, including Washington State. They usually build large nests out of sticks, and they return to the same spot year after year.