The Patt family begins to excavate the nest site.
After monitoring the nest for three nights with no more activity after the big boil, nest #2 was excavated. The team wasn’t sure what would be found. They knew they had counted 74 hatchlings but would there be any live hatchlings or unhatched eggs found?
Under the guidance of nest parents Shelley and MaryJane, the Patt family and the Dilley’s dug into the sight. It took a while for the team to reach the the egg chamber but when they finally did, a most fantastic surprise awaited them.
Marilyn mans her explanation station.
Typically a nest will contain at least a handful (or more often two hands-full) or unhatched eggs. This team found just one egg that did not develop! The total clutch size of this nest turned out to be 78 and phenomenal 94.8% emerged from the nest. Perhaps even more amazing than that was that the hatchling counter at the nest, counted with dead-on accuracy!
The proud Nest Sitting family.