Yesterday, and on the 29th I had visited the nest site in the afternoon, one thing is for sure, there is very little activity around the nest site and in the nest at this time of day and I didn't see the birds in that area at all on those visits. I was beginning to worry that they had deserted this nest?. It appears that most "domestic" activity takes place in the morning, at least that is the case with this pair. Today, even thought the weather was still not really suitable, it was wet and overcast. I felt I must visit in the morning just to reassure myself that everything was progressing as it should be. As soon as I approached the nest I saw one of the pair sat in front of the nest site, a big relief. He or she left and I quickly took up a position in front with a good view, but camouflaged and hidden as usual. After a while the male reappeared and just sat on a boulder in mid-stream, not too far away, where was the female? After around 20 minutes he flew up stream and I was pretty sure that something different was happening. I quickly climbed down and checked the nest. Half expecting the female to emerge, I deliberately made more noise than normal as I didn't want to upset the bird by surprising her on the nest. I need not have worried, she wasn't in the nest......... but there was an egg. It was in the new nest which is lined with beech leaves and, compared to the unused "volley ball" sized one, is just rudimentary, in fact I wouldn't have thought it was finished. I quickly, very quickly took photographs and moved away as soon as I could. There is something special about a bird's nest and I am thrilled to discover that everything is progressing as it should be.
Later on, as I walked back on my way home, I watched both birds feeding in their usual place, at least 300 yards from the nest. If one fact about these birds has surprised me most it is the way they roam quite a distance, and in 12 days of watching I have yet to see them feeding in view of the nest, obviously a ploy.