Vultures all over the world

[Marbzy]

The visit comes to an end after nearly 20 minutes:


In the evening things go back to normal:


El macho's shift is set to continue into another day:

[Marbzy]

18 April

In the morning, the male is right where we last saw him (he just stands up to make sure he can be identified correctly:


At 10:33 the cam zooms in on el macho:


The male, the white stains on his wing, the yellow band, the egg and... the plastic bag

[Marbzy]

In the afternoon, el macho was troubled by more visitors:


And this one was to be a close encounter:


It's familiar scenes up to this point:

[Marbzy]

The intruder comes flying at really close quarters:


The egg is in grave danger:


El macho is absolutely livid:

[Marbzy]

Thankfully, the intruder has taken the hint:


El macho takes some time to calm down:


Eventually he resumes brooding:

[Marbzy]

12 minutes later another airspace infringement occurs:


On this occasion, the intruder does not make it into cam view:


The male is keeping guard over el huevo:

[Marbzy]

Finally he can roll the egg in piece:


Into the 54th hour of his shift, the male rises again and makes some room for his partner:


And la hembra duly obliges:

[Marbzy]

10 seconds later the male is off:


The female gives the egg a spin:


Naturally, el macho is soon back (with some nest material):

[Marbzy]

The male leaves a total of six times:


And returns five times with nest material:


From his final errand...:

[Marbzy]

... he brings an XL size stick:


Where shall we put it, dear?


The sixth and final takeoff:

[Marbzy]

The early hours of the female's shift pass peacefully:


She can take advantage of the benevolent weather:


Good night, la hembra!

[Marbzy]

19 April

The day's coverage started with la hembra comfortably on the egg:


She exercised a bit every now and then:


She then placed a stick or two in front of the egg to make it invisible from the cam's perspective:

[Marbzy]

She then enjoyed her siesta:


But the afternoon was to turn out very busy:


These are her reactions to the first major disturbance of the day:

[Marbzy]

The male arrived to lend her a wing just before 5 pm (as seems to be his wont):


The female left half a minute later:


Hardly had the male settled on the egg when she came back:

[Marbzy]

She made her partner get up:


But then she left him on his own in the nest again:


El macho looked a little confused, but he soon had some defending to do:

[Marbzy]

The female returned at 17:03:


She got the male to rise one more time:


And sent him away to the roost:

[Marbzy]

Seven minutes later the male took off and it seemed as though things might go quiet:


But then an intruder came flying in...:


... and made an attempt to land way too close to the nest:

[Marbzy]

La hembra rose in a fury to defend the egg:


But almost instantly her partner, leading with his claws, came into view:


The intruder is likely to be suffering from backache for the next few days:

[Marbzy]

That was a close encounter:


The female took some time to calm down:


It seems that there may have been more strangers in this couple's airspace.

Eventually, the male came back with a stick which he then laboriously placed near the rim:

[Marbzy]

Next he proudly stood guard over la hembra, el huevo and all:


He left again at 17:26...:


Only to come back at 18:47: