It’s very frustrating! After the past few years of wonderful close-up pictures with every nuance of movement, twitch of feather and evidence of strain noted, we now can’t be absolutely sure about anything. HOWEVER from viewing our birds’ behaviour at a distance we think that Mrs. No-ring must have laid at least one egg. In retrospect she has been sitting very conscienciously on the nest since Saturday, only leaving to eat fish or for comfort breaks. Today No-ring started to take his turn, hopping into the nest whenever his wife left - typical incubation behaviour. If everything is going entirely normally (when has that happened with this pair?) one egg could have been laid on Saturday, one today and one due on Wednesday. This would be a full clutch of three, laid at two-day intervals.

It’s a question of don’t count your eggs before they’re laid as well as don’t count your ospreys before they’re hatched. Just hope we can all bear the suspense.