Hi Jonnieb- I live 30 minutes away from the NBG, and had not visited in years, since it used to be basically a collection of azaleas, camellias, and rhodies, with very little else to recommend it. Early this summer I went on a kayak tour through the garden and was blown away by all the improvements, expansion, and variety of plant material. I wrote a blog entry about the trip at the url listed below. You're right about the traffic, both coming from DC and heading east on 64 - it's a nightmare if you can't time it exactly right! Here is a link that might be useful: Blog entry on NBG trip

Yes, it was sad that they had to be removed but IMO, it was the right thing. The bald eagle is just beginning to make a strong comeback in the area so why would anyone want to take the chance to have them killed off by being sucked into an airplane engine or splattered on the windshield? In April 2011, 2 were killed, just a couple of weeks apart. There were 2 other eagle strikes as well, but they were unconfirmed. The pilots said they were eagles but the birds were not recovered in order to make it official. The eagles were nesting at Norfolk Botanical Gardens. At the entrance of the NBG, there is a hill. Climb that hill and you can look out over the airport runways. A lot of bird strikes are reported at Norfolk International. It's almost scary. With the NBG next door, there are many different types of large birds that make their home there.

I check the nest each day, but didn't happen to see the intruder. Here is a picture and news article about it. Sue Here is a link that might be useful: Intruder

Thanks so much for posting this...I love to watch them and I'm so greatful you took the time to remind us! I just emailed the link out to friends and folks at work. I hope they have successful clutch this year.