Saturday 3 May 2008

Hail and Hearty

What a week in the Tweed valley! We've had everything from glorious spring sunshine to hail showers, and finally some real warmth in the air.

One Tuesday the hail was so heavy it saw our poor female osprey frantically mantling (spreading her wings and flattened herself) over her eggs trying to protect them from the hailstones. She was , at one stage, up to her chest surrounded by hailstones in a completely white nest! Surely this is not the kind of weather she was hoping for when she flew back from Africa!

Although we've had no serious nest incursions by stray ospreys or other birds, our male has been sitting in nearby trees frequently, and often on the camera itself, never too far away from his precious female and nest, in case of trouble.

The telltale vertical wobble on the camera lets us know he's sitting perched on it and sometimes we get a great view of his undercarriage as he take off!

Otherwise all is well on the nest and incubation continues- we all have our fingers crossed for our three precious eggs.

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