A traffic camera on the Bay Bridge revealed Tuesday that one small part of the span has gotten a little more crowded recently.
In April, two osprey came to inhabit a nest built on the bridge’s N1 gantry, the overhead structures that hold lights, traffic cameras and road signs. The raptors live on a small platform built in 2014 after their first attempt to nest directly blocked the camera there. Ever since, the platform has played host to an osprey couple each summer, with MDTA officials believing it’s the same couple returning to nest.
Monday through Thursday, from 12 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. MDTA pivots the N1 gantry camera to view the nest, and during Tuesday’s glance, two baby osprey, or fledglings, were spotted.
The Delmarva area serves as a year round habitat for osprey, who predominantly eat fish. Fledglings tend to leave the nest around seven to eight weeks old.