Birds and their eggs

It's the time of year for discovering nests, eggs and mother birds protecting their eggs.  The children at Nature Discovery are discovery eggs in some very funny places leading to discussion on how the eggs got to where they were found.  The wind has been blamed for most of the damage while stoats and possums feature in the discussions too.  Logan found an egg laying in the long grass and decided to make a nest for it.  The children collected different natural materials to build the nest.  Grass was put in the middle as a soft spot for the egg.  Unfortunately the egg was broken but the children got to see inside, to their amazement there was no baby bird it looked just like a normal hens egg inside that we eat.  It wasn't long before another egg was found and this time it was in a large shallow puddle.  The egg was very small and very pale.  The children decided water wasn't a good place for the egg and it was relocated.  On our walk back to the shed we found a Piwaiwaka (Fantail) sitting on her nest.  We could just see her wee head and tail.  What an awesome discovery.