A third of the 446-acre grounds of the National Arboretum were closed to the public because there were at least three eagle nests with newly hatched eggs in them. I did try to photograph one of the nests and a mother eagle involved in a skirmish with a hawk (posted last week in my Special and Miscellaneous gallery), but the pictures didn’t turn out all that well. I tried again on our last visit with a long lens, and they aren't worth posting. There is a viewing scope not so far from one of the nests so people can at least have a closer view.

I would highly recommend looking at the DC Bald Eagle Nest Cam http://www.dceaglecam.org/ for an excellent, live look at one of the eagle families in the arboretum. It’s easy to get hooked watching the eaglets growing up! Also, an amazing rescue when one of the eaglets got its leg stuck in the nest railing http://www.eagles.org/dc4-rescue/

Dogwoods in bloom, posted earlier: