It is
now just before 3 o'clock and the solitary egg is still in one piece.
But
what's this? It is 3 minutes past 3 and Babe is holding up a piece of
eggshell!
As we
watch, the eggshell gets smaller - she is eating it rather than leave the
nest at this stage to dispose of it!
Having
disposed of the first half, she fishes down in the nest cup for the other
half.
This
too she starts to eat - resting it briefly on the side of the nest when she
is part way through.
She
has practically finished.
Now
there are five wriggling pink blobs in the nest cup!
Just
to remind you of Kelly - here is a picture of Kelly with 7 gapes!
We are still not sure how many of Kelly's 8 eggs hatched, or how many of the chicks are still alive. However, this image appears to show seven gapes. You never know, there might be 8 chicks somewhere down there in the pit!
Click on the picture for a bigger version!