Eggs-raying to check for fertility

Ok, enough with the bad news. Here is something to celebrate: the Yellow-eyed penguins in our colonies had their eggs candled - or egg-rayed as some like to put it. We shine a light from a torch through the eggs in a black box to see if they are fertile. It is very close to hatching and we are able to predict now which eggs will not hatch. It turns out this season it is likely to be very few. The fertility rate was 91% - and that included the three eggs that were abandoned because the mothers failed to return to relieve their mates. We tucked them under other pairs who sit - uncomfortably but graciously - on three eggs until we can rearrange them so that no one ends up with more than 2 chicks and they are the same size and age. Bless them all and their fertility. Lets keep all fingers and toes crossed for successful hatching and surviving the first crucial 2 weeks.