LOCH GARTEN - May 2022

10.17 something flew from right to left and up she got, so whether that is Axel with a fish, I hope so.

Edit.  I'm not convinced it was an osprey.

Edit:  Well spotted Jane.  I went back to check it out.  As you said, 10.17 when Mistle called, and stood up, a dark largish bird flew to the dead tree to the left of the tower and the nest.  It stayed there until 10.22.  Like you I have no ID of species!  However, given that she called it could well have been Axel.  The big question is why didn't he come to the nest?

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10.24 Mistle seemed 'puffed' up, had a good shake and flew to the dead stick tree to the right of the tower and called briefly on landing.

11.17 she is still there.

11.21 buzzard calls - there have been a number of bird calls heard of different spp.

11.25  buzzard calls, nearer.  Drumming of woodpecker.  Mistle still on the sticky tree.

11.27  geese honking 

11.28 Cuckoo, cuckooing!

11.30 Mistle returned to the nest, with a chirrup.  

By 11.35 she is lying in the cup

Cuckoo still calling.
Still no sign of Axel.

I'm going for a bit.  BBL

Oh dear! I hope nothing has happened to Axel

Oh dear! I hope nothing has happened to Axel

Oh this is so turning out all wrong. As Sheila has said, things were going so well, expecially for a few days when Axel took a fish in each day, then they spent a lot of time on the next together, Mistle was in the nestcup, I thought we were going ton have an egg. Now what is happening? No sign of Axel since yesterday lunchtime, poor Mistle all on her own. Has he a nest somehere else, are folks at LG able to locate him elswhere? If this is the case then the last thing we need are eggs, he will not be able attend to two ladies and chicks. If there is no other nest, then where is he? I so hope that he is okay and nothing has happened to him. A roller coaster indeed.

I think this nest shows that it really isn't easy to get a settled pairing on a new nest. The Manton pair of 33 and Maya, make it look so so easy, they arrive back early, nest is made and eggs laid in what can seem like days. All helped by the fact that the nest is in a large expanse of water which is stocked with fish.

JaneV said:

I'm starting to think that too Cirrus. Maybe Axel thinks she should have produced eggs by now and is having a change of mind. If that is possible, which I doubt.

Yes, Jane, hardly  likely. More likely is the running of two nests and now that the first has (perhaps) produced an egg, that's that . A male cannot keep two nests going - end of story

Yes but the first time that Maya and Blue 33 came together it was far from easy. She first paired up with Blue 28 and eggs were laid. Along came Blue 33 and said "I want some of that" and evicted Blue 28  There were no chicks that year. 

Intruder 13.34, landed in dead tree. Mistle seemed to be soliciting from the nest but then flew after the bird and escorted it away before returning to the nest. My guess is that it was a male osprey.