More eggs!

After the anticipation of waiting for the first eggs to arrive, I am now inundated! The gulls nesting on the peninsula are popping them out at a great rate! And with the arrival of so many eggs, the aggression and nest defence has been taken to another level! I have yet to be clipped on my kop by a passing mama but I was poo-ed on. Physics did not save me this time. Clearly the birds are waiting for intruders with full tanks of ammunition, I was hit with the largest poo that slid delightfully down my arm. That was the second hit of the day, the first being a small splat on my knee. The third time I was hit I was royally frustrated! I was hot, sweaty, and now covered in poo! The third was the worst, landing on the collar of my shirt. Which meant that the smell of digested fish stayed with me for the rest of the time on the peninsula, not pleasant at all! No amount of cursing or placating deterred the birds. I need to resign myself to this situation, because it really is only going to get worse and I am not wearing a raincoat, I will boil myself alive in summer! What must be done must be done. I measured and weighed a large number of eggs, and found a few 3 egg clutches which is really cool! The Sacred Ibis are also moving along in their breeding season. The number of breeding aggregations has increased, and there are eggs as well as chicks a few weeks old which are up and walking around. I make a point of stopping for a time to watch them, I often get some wonderful photos, this time no different!

Gulls collecting plastic packets for nest lining. Photo by Shirley Van de Voorde.

Weighing and measuring the eggs.

A three egg clutch, with some interesting nest lining.

Breakfast time for this greedy bird!