The Willy Wagtail nest

 I think the photo says it all - a willy wagtail decided to build a nest and lay two eggs. It was a great spot from the willy wagtail's point of view as my boat cover protected the eggs from wind and swooping sea eagles. 

 

What a dilemma. I only found the nest several hours after I moved Little Dragon across the paddock. Eventually we decided to carefully detach the nest and without touching the eggs relocate the nest to a similar spot on a catamaran that wasn't going anywhere for several weeks and was only a couple of metres away from the original location. We hoped that the parents would find the nest that night although it seemed more likely that these eggs were already doomed. Dick reassured me that this pair of willy wagtails had been around for several years and always laid two clutches a year. 

Next day, feeling like a murderer, I rigged Little Dragon ready for my crew Martin and Lewis Bail to arrive. It was a long weekend and we planned to stay a couple of nights, but the forecast  was so bad that we decided to settle on a day sail then beat a retreat homeward. There was a fine breeze in the morning and we zoomed up and down the river for a couple of hours then came back to the clubhouse for lunch and made a snap decision to take part in the Saturday afternoon race.

There was still a good breeze and we were enjoying ourselves although somewhat frustrated by our difficulty in laying the mark close to the clubhouse. I admit that we finally decided to keep going without rounding that mark. I fully intended to own up to our "course adjustment" when the race was abandoned due to an approaching storm (which circled round and fizzled out).
 

PS A week later Dick told me that during the week the nest had been smashed up and the eggs gone. He isn't sure what happened, maybe a possum.