LOCH ARKAIG (The Woodland Trust) - JUNE 2019

Louis nearly landed on the chicks with a headless fish - I can't see it properly yet...

It was eagerly received by Aila and one chick, and the other is up too now.

15.48, much larger headless fish from Louis. I'm pleased that he has had some as his crop looked a bit empty before. Ian

This morning's FISH:

Louis arrived with a leftover:

Aila didn't get up so he proceeded to eat it.  When Aila eventually rose she chose the piece she'd been semi-concealing and fed some to the chicks:

Then she took Louis's fishtail and offered it to the chicks but ate it herself when no takers:

Louis hung around until 05:07, when he flew off with Aila's fish:

Louis brought back the fish:

Aila had a preen and stretch in a sun-shower:

Then she nibbled the fish and fed the chicks:

Well it was going to be a fish-only post but can't resist Aila's big clump :)

Followed soon after by Louis's big clump! ;-D

Aila had a flyabout while Louis waited, I think she brought back this bark, here she is placing it (it ended up precariously perched on our side of the fence) after chucking it on the chicks:

Then Aila was off and back 4-5 times, finally bringing this stick, disturbing the chicks with it as she wobbled and tripped in the wind:

That was also placed on our side - what about the unsticked back of the nest, Aila?!

Louis brought something tiny, didn't hang about.

Aila's been doing quite a lot of preening:

A whole FISH:

Aila fed the chicks and Louis came and took way the remainder (unsnappable) but soon brought it back again, in style!

Aila had to lift him off as she got up to take the fish - you wonder why he'd bothered to take it away, he hadn't eaten much of it:

Big chick:

More rain:

There were large flies buzzing about the nest, otherwise I can't see what the chicks were looking at:

#2 was nodding off, then bonk!

Then #1 magnificently pooped, it cleared the nest by a mile - and with a bobble on each end ;)

One of Louis's small whole specials:

Then a Louis headless special!  Aila started feeding right away, so the previous couldn't have gone far:

#2's crop:

But it did a silly thing:

{{{Aila}}} noticing something:

"Whatever was this that Aila shooed off the nest?  Tiny!"  Absolutely no point in slomo, too few frames per second.

More flies than usual on the nest today - unless I just haven't been noticing :-/

Another fine poop, this time from #2:

Another fine poop:

Aila brought in a log and reinforced the same fencing :-/

Something else has been happening since but this is never-ending so I'll post!

The "something happening" was Aila pottering and stretching:

In readiness for Louis's fine, whole FISH which I can't do justice to:

#2 just started another short-lived attack and was beaten down.  I think it does it because when #1 moves it thinks that attack is the best form of defence :(

I think that Louis is trying to feed a chick now 'n then. (Aila also has a fish and is definitely feeding a chick.)

I hope to do a video when it's all over and when time/energy.

No doubt about it, he's feeding one and Aila the other :-* What an asset!

(C) The Woodland Trust