14 August 2023
Getting closer . . . .
Since the last update, the female has been sitting tight on the three eggs. She has stayed right up against the back wall of the box, – the only changes when I’ve checked on her being which way she was facing – inward or outward.
Eggs number two and three were laid sometime between the 21st and 25th July and, given that incubation typically takes 31 days, we should find out if either of them is fertile in just over a week.
Unfortunately however, I leave tomorrow for a tour of Namibia, Botswana and Zambia for Victor Emanuel Nature Tours (VENT), and will only be able update everyone when I get back in September. Interestingly though, the last time that I led this tour – in 2019, the chicks had already left the nest by the time I returned. Confirmation of just how long it took the female to start laying this season!
By Geoff Lockwood