Fledglings

Juvenile stretching its wings

Somewhere there must be a how-to manual for dealing with a mother's death--Grieving for Dummies or whatever--but if so, I've never read it, so I'm dealing with this the best way I can. Today that meant getting out of the house and going to the park to look at birds. The egret chicks were not in sight but I found a pair of young anhingas taking a few wobbly steps away from the nest while the adult perched protectively overhead. What do they do when the mom is no longer there to nurture them? They don't need any how-to manuals--they just wing it. If they can do it, so can I.

Juvenile on left; adult on right.

Juvenile on the nest