I decided to go see this bird today and found it to be extremely tame and
cooperative. I took a series of "hind toe" photos and can't see any nail.
I've posted them here:

http://nestbox.com/sections/rare/bbwd.htm

The first photo shows a water droplet hanging from the left hind toe. The
last photo shows a brownish area on the right hind toe that, when blown up,
looks like the spot a nail once protruded from.

Just thought I'd throw these into the fray.

Arlene Ripley
Calvert County, MD
http://nestbox.com
piwa99 at comcast dot net

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Paul O'Brien" <>
To: <>
Sent: Thursday, June 08, 2006 11:46 AM
Subject: Re: [MDOSPREY] BBWD photos


Photos #1 of 19 and #10 of 19 exhibit the minuscule pale nails on the hind
toes of the left and right feet, respectively.   The photo Bob Mumford 
posted
yesterday showed the same tiny nail on the left hind toe.   It is not the
forward-facing toes we are concerned about and you have to blow up each 
photo to see
these nail nubs.   Even then, they are only marginally detectable.   We 
still
need some expert advice on the possible sexual dimorphism in these nails.
Lasley's site is the best I have seen illustrating this difference.