Today, the Maryland Transportation Authority added a platform to its Bay Bridge traffic-camera gantry, so ospreys may nest there without blocking the cameras. At noon four days a week, a camera will pivot to show the ospreys for 15 minutes. The ospreys appear to find the MDTA's terms of surrender acceptable.

The osprey, Pandion haliaetus, is a bird of character. The ancient poets knew this, and the Maryland Transportation Authority is discovering it the hard way. Last week, a pair of ospreys decided to build their nest on a platform overlooking the approach to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, where the MDTA keeps a traffic…