At last! After a week of peeking around corners and trying to stealthily sneak a few frames of Gazelle on the nest, I arrived for my morning snoop when she wasn’t there! In this process I’ve discovered something new about myself. I would make a terrible spy. Espionage is absolutely not my strong suit. I’d be captured or killed within 24-hours I’m sure. America is far safer with me at home.

I guess the key is getting out there during breakfast time. Gazelle must be an “early bird”. My kids were thrilled to have a looksie at the nest this morning. They’ve been copying down definitions for things like brooding and incubation in their journal for the past few days since I’ve kept the disruptions at the nest to an absolute minimum. They both agreed the nest looks deeper than before and hypothesised that Gazelle’s body weight must have increased the depth of the nest. I’m just happy they had something new to write about.

You can see from the photo above just how dark it is along the rockery wall in the morning. The sun comes up behind our house, and while it’s beautifully illuminating my daughter’s hair into a golden sheen, the craggy area hiding the nest is fully in shadow. Makes for tricky photography for sure. Last thing to share with you is a close-up of the beautiful weaving of our nest. This is the first chance I’ve had to really appreciate the intricacy in a bird’s nest, and every time I look closer, I’m amazed at the design. Thicker, coarser material around the outside and more pliable items woven along the interior. Incredible.