I don't like Mondays

Live sea eagle webcam 

Well, actually I do. Usually. But to wake up to the mizzle (mist and drizzle?) again was a bit of a let down. Especially when the rest of the UK seems to be basking in wonderful warm sunshine.  However, undaunted, two true-grit groups assembled at 10am and 1pm and were not put off by suggestions that we might see absolutely nothing at the hide. They would take their chances. True the mist was down and covered the nest wood. True it was raining so hard you got soaked walking from car to hide. True the midges were loving it. True the morning group saw nothing more than a dark 'atmospheric' eagle silhouette in a tree. The afternoon group were a determined bunch. True Brits. It's as if they were willing the rain to stop.  And then a miracle happened.  It stopped. The clouds parted. A hint of blue appeared in the western sky. Frisa flew from the nest where she'd been doing her best to protect her rapidly growing chicks from the wet. She perched next to Skye and they called to each other. A small cheer went up from the brave crowd at the forward hide. Skye heard what Frisa was screaming: "I know it's wet. I know you're fed up but GO GET SOME FOOD!" Out he flew from the wood, across the loch and off to hunt. Everyone got fabulous views and they left happy and contented, if a little damp and slightly bitten. A small price to pay.

Last night as I took a last look at the live streaming sea eagle webcam in Estonia, I learned something new about sea eagles after nearly 30 years of watching them. Of course we never really get to see them at roost, at night, 'asleep'. The webcam is 2 hours ahead of British Summer Time so at 2230 Estonian time, there was one of the adults - probably the female - on the nest with the two chicks. Amazingly she had her head tucked under her wing - just like a sleeping swan. I've never seen them do that before. There's always something new to learn about these birds. As I write I can close my eyes and picture Frisa on the nest tonight. She has her two chicks tucked cosily underneath and she rests her proud head under her wing. Let's hope the sun shines on them all (and dries them out) tomorrow.

Welcome back to the new Springwatch team. Great show. I think it works. How about you?

Has Britain Got Talent? Mull's sea eagles get some primetime TV exposure this week. Don't miss 'Animal 24:7' BBC One 7.30pm Wednesday 27 May (except Wales).

Dave Sexton RSPB Scotland Mull Officer

Have you ever thought of joining the RSPB and supporting our work with the eagles? Just click the 'Join now' button and take a look.