LOCH GARTEN - May 2022

AX6 Axel and his lovely unringed partner Mistle are bonding well, and Mistle has been threatening to lay an egg - we await developments.

It seems that Mistle has been on the perch & nest all night:

  • A beautiful morning at LG. No fish yet

    (c) RSPB Loch Garten

  • I think we both heard a single Cuckoo call just then:

    Either this site is seizing up or my system is - please don't make me reboot :'(

  • scylla said:
    Either this site is seizing up or my system is - please don't make me reboot

    It was my system and I had to shut everything down and reboot Tired face

    I wish I could work out what went wrong but I never can.

  • Morning all! The sun has appeared... but the skies still look dark. The wind doesn't appear to gusting so strongly, but I think I said that y'day!
    A quick flit thru, and apart from a short comfort break, all is peaceful.
  • Morning all Fish at 10-18am good size
  • Thank you very much for the heads up, Trevor!  It saves a lot of searching.  I have to say that Mistle taking the fish from Axel and flying was done in the blink of an eye, and certainly a lot quicker than it too Axel to settle.

    #1 FISH

    10.17.23  She was aware Axel was coming

    10.18.15  landing

    10.18.22  Grab

    10.18.27   and fly

    and then Axel gingerly goes down to the cup, talons firmly clenched, spends time moving twigs, goes down, gets up, moves more twigs and lichen...

    10.20.48  finally settled

    © RSPB - Loch Garten & WildlifeWindows

  • It was a great fish - headless Rainbow Trout ??? ??? ???

    The wind is glitching the cam something awful and it looked as tho Mistle was blown about in the sky somewhat - but she's used to that, in all her travels.  She brought back a good portion for Axel:

  • If it was a rainbow trout, I guess he had visited the fish farm, or a sourced pond rather than from the river.

    11.18 Axel gets restless and calls as he changes position and checks the nest below.

    11.54  Mistle returns.  Contact chipping probably from Axel.  He has difficulty getting the fish from Mistle's grasp, and the wind wasn't making life easy for either of them.

    He pulled once but failed, and again

    I don't think she was being awkward, she just had her reactive grasp on the fish.

    Axel flew off

    The wind wasn't helping her to gently lower to the cup!

    But she did

    12.35.57  She leaves for a comfort break

    12.36.36  Axel returns with the fish and looked around for her - what does a chap do, fly away, abandon the fish and incubate, or fly away with the fish.  He does the latter!

    12.38 she lands gently, carrying a small stick.  She pushes her beak in the cup and lifts bedding up, moves a stick of two and incubates.

    12.40  Axel returns with the fish, which Mistle takes - a good tail size - and flies off with it  12.41

    12.42 Axel incubates

    12.55 INTRUDER?  Axel stood up and gave a brief intruder call.  No idea what that was all about.  The VC might have seen something?  He settles almost immediately

    13.02  Mistle returns with a branch covered in lichen.  Axel gets up checks for intruders and flies.  Mistle incubates

    13.35 Mistle gets up and lifts off straight away.  No call.  ENS

    13.39  Mistle returns with a long sticky stick - she doesn't spend much time with it and soon incubates

    14.01 Mistle starts calling loudly, and lifts off the eggs and the nest.  ENS   So what was that about Mistle!

    14.02  Axel returns to incubate

    14.03  Mistle returns with another long stick - lovely contact calls.  She swings hwer tail over him as she sorts sticks.  He gets up.  Mistle has a natter/moan

    14.04 Axel has flown and Mistle immediately settles on the eggs

    14.12  Axel swoops in with another sticky stick.  

    14.12  Mistle flies off, Axel watches then heads for the nest, picking up a bit of nesting material or a stick or two on the way.

    14.17 Mistle returns with another stick!!  Axel gets up and stands on one leg while she moves sticks around.  

    14.17  Axel leaves.  Mistle incubates.

    In out in out shake it all about!!  Mistle is incubating at the moment.

    © RSPB - Loch Garten & WildlifeWindows

  • Hi all, just checking in, in garden, stopped for some lunch and away out again. Still windy but not as previous days, what a good boy Axel has been with that lovely brown trout, keep em coming my boy! Some more nest building me thinks is needed at the end of the nest, to keep the fluffballs in the nest. Thanks for all the updates, away to cut more grass! Will catch up in the evening.
  • Mistle started to call Axel as soon as he left

    14.52                                              She got up and flew off.  ENS

    14.55                                              Mistle flies in with another stick.  She doesn't exactly places it as dump it.  She walks across the side of the nest, tripping on another stick and puts the new one down on the side, before picking up another places it and incubates.

                                                                    She called on an off for the next hour, often looking towards the dead tree, the old nest, the camtower and the sticky stick, but the for the life of me I can't see Axel!  Perhaps he's just out of view, as she can clearly see him.

    15.21        With an angry cry she took off, bottom right.  I didn't see her swing into sight.

    15.22        But Axel returns, looking around for her, then slowly and gently down on to the eggs.

    15.23        Mistle returns and does the usual ploy of bashing him from the rear when he moved a stick, and an even larger stick at the back of the nest.  No, that's not right, but I do think it was the stick she brought in a couple of hours ago, stick with large clump of lichen on the end.    Worthy of a short vid!

    15.24         Axel leaves her to it.

                     She's building up the barriers again

    15.30        Axel lands on the dead tree on the left.  She calls until..

    15.47        When she took off.  Axel is still on the dead tree.

    15.48        Axel flies to the nest and incubates.  Mistle is out of sight.

    16.07        Axel keeps looking back towards the dead tree – is Mistle there but out of sight?

    16.08        Mistle returns, chatters to Axel and moves sticks, sidles up to him and chatters some more.

                    He doesn't move so she picks up a stick and drops it on his, then stands on his tail as she reaches for a stick and places it on the rim.  Chatter chatter, up the other side of Axel, more yelling, but he's staying put!

    16.10       She pauses to attend to a feather and resumes.  He ignores her again, shutting his eyes, LOL.  She preens a bit, and resumes

    16.12      She gives up and flies off.

    16.23        Mistle returns with a bundle of twigs a a bit like a loose witches broom!

    16.24        Axel leaves her to it.

     © RSPB - Loch Garten & WildlifeWindows