The Skuas Lay Eggs

There is an abundance of skuas around. I can see around 8-10 pairs now and I have lot count of who is who. Shankar has found a mate. He hovers around our station, but since that is the preserve of its parents, he is not allowed near it. So he stays near the pump house.



Aish has laid its eggs near the Priyadarshani lake near the Tirumala hut and is now incubating them. I accidentally discovered this fact when I was going for a walk near the lake. Suddenly, Aish emerged from behind the rocks and screamed in a menacing tone. Her voice appeared to have gone bad. She was in a foul mood. Then equally suddenly, I saw Abhi rocketing straight at me, shouting in the same menacing voice. I thought that he was going to attack me. But he just wanted to scare me away. He hovered around me till I was at a comfortable distance from Aish. Then he stood guard till I left that place.



The next day, I again visited the site at a safe distance armed with my camera. I saw Aish through the powerful zoom of my camera and took a photograph. I could not see the eggs, but she is always seen in the same position, sitting down. This kind of behaviour can only be because of the eggs. We leave the couple alone and try not to scare them. In the pics below, Aish can be seen shouting and Abhi is having a swim.