Photo by Cleve Nash
Today was a full day of confirmation. Brooding is in the routine now. For the first two hours this morning, the tiercel was in the eyrie brooding. I only knew this when I saw the female arrive about 10:55AM. She had been perched where she was not visible. When she landed on the edge of the eyrie, the tiercel quickly left and let her take over brooding. He hung around for half an hour, then off to the estuary for a kill.
He returned about noon, with prey hanging below. At the elevation of his return flight, the female can see him from a long way off, even while sitting on eggs.
I don’t watch the sky around or over the estuary to see him returning. I keep focused on the eyrie to see her poke out her head. Then I know, he will be here in a minute or so. Their eyesight is incredible. It never ceases to amaze me.
She greeted him on the diving board, took the bird and flew to “the chimney.” He walked into the back of the eyrie to brood. When she finished the bird, she took a couple laps around the rock, then back to the nest.
The tiercel, perching where we could see him, did not return to relieve her for the next three hours. When he did, he brought her another bird, which she ate, then let him do the brooding for the next two hours.
So much for room service, I went home to king salmon and broccoli.
Happy trails, Bob
