What - no food mum?

Another busy day at the eagle hide with the parent birds, Iona and Fingal, putting in more appearances at the nest than of late.  Yesterday we didn't see very much of our adults but they must have been busy hunting, as all sorts of food could be seen on the nest, including the intestines of a fairly large mammal which the chicks proceeded to play tug-of-war with whilst we were trying to eat our packed lunches!

Today the adults have been backwards and forwards to check on their youngsters, and probably to see how much food was left uneaten.  It would appear that there wasn't very much as Iona and Fingal have spent a lot of time out catching food.  This afternoon the female brought in a fairly large white bird - probably a gull - which she insisted on plucking before letting the chicks start to eat.  The local Buzzard was showing a lot of interest in the nest too, prompting the adults to return frequently to persuade it not to come too close.



The six-week old chicks on the nest with Iona nearby
Photo: Sue Dewar

 When Iona flew in late this afternoon she had a quick check on the nest to satisfy herself that all was well, before flying to a nearby branch.  It was easy to see the chicks' disgust as they tottered around on the nest searching for food. Eventually, they decided there was nothing much to eat and settled back down for yet another snooze. 

And a final note - we heard today that our White-tailed Sea Eagle family at Glen Seilisdeir will feature on tonight's final episode of Springwatch, starting on BBC2 at 8pm.