Because we have marsh harriers breeding at Kinnordy we are able to see some of their wonderful behaviors up close and from the comfort of the hide!

One such behavior is the food toss. When the female is busy incubating the eggs the male will catch food for her. When he has caught his prey he will fly over the nest and call to the female. She will then fly up from the nest to collect the spoils from her mate. The birds pass the food to each other, the male dropping it and the female catching it. All of this happening while both are in flight. This allows the male to stay on the wing, not wasting any energy on landing, and the female to stay incubating for as long as possible. It's a good trick!

Ted Logan managed to get these wonderful photos of a food toss from Gullery hide last week: