Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Zachariah Vincent, 25, of Skowhegan, leaps from the cliffs into the Kennebec River on Thursday near the Margaret Chase Smith Bridge with Skowhegan Dam in the background in Skowhegan. It is illegal to jump into the river from the bridge, and authorities urge people to use caution when jumping from the cliffs into the river.
Many predictably ask for a compromise that works on pavement as well as on light-duty forest paths -- the latter say gravel roads or trails minus big rocks, deep sand, long, steep drops, etc. That info narrows the choices.
This column continues the discussion of osprey biology from my last column. I wrote about the dependence of osprey on live fish for food. Ospreys are not picky about the fish they prey upon in either salt- or freshwater environments. As long as the fish are in shallow water or within 3 feet of the surface of deeper water, they are at risk from an attack from above by a feathered menace.