Baby Chickadees Photo Journal - Page 2

Welcome to the popular Baby Chickadees photojournal, where you'll follow the amazing day-by-day growth and development of seven baby chickadees from the parents' nest building to the day the nestlings fledged into the wide world.

These Carolina Chickadees nested in one of my bluebird boxes in the spring of 2004.

I have other galleries for a wide variety of birds -- please visit them too!

Gallery pages: < 1 2 3 4 5 6 > >>

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flyaway > May 6, Day 2:

The seventh chick hatched sometime in the last 24 hours, and all seven are squirming.

The chick in the middle, gaping straight at the camera, is one of the oldest - it's visibly bigger than the sibling to the right, which is the youngest hatchling. The newest hatching still has its "egg tooth" - a bony growth on top of its bill that helps it break out of the egg. The egg tooth falls off soon after hatching.

flyaway > May 6, Day 2:
For scale. The chicks range from 3/4" to 1" in total length.

flyaway > May 6, Day 2:
Dad sits anxiously on a nearby branch, anxiously watching us check on his babies.

flyaway > May 7, Day 3:
The chicks are squirming and wriggling, and already realize that our whistle doesn't mean food. Feathers are starting to form on their heads, wings and backs -- instead of naked pink, they're full of dark spots.

flyaway > May 7, Day 3:
The chicks are growing fast.

flyaway > May 7, Day 3:
Dad was angry, and kept dive bombing me while I was photographing the nest.

flyaway > May 8, Day 4:
Since yesterday the chicks have developed ear-holes, and have recognizable feather sheaths on their wings.

flyaway > May 8, Day 4:
The chicks are now about an inch long.

flyaway > May 9, Day 5:
Although a whistle no longer works, a kissing sound will still make the nestlings gape -- and one of them is peeping! Tiny white feather sheaths are just starting to form on their breasts, and the sheaths on their wings are getting longer.

May 6, Day 2:

The seventh chick hatched sometime in the last 24 hours, and all seven are squirming.

The chick in the middle, gaping straight at the camera, is one of the oldest - it's visibly bigger than the sibling to the right, which is the youngest hatchling. The newest hatching still has its "egg tooth" - a bony growth on top of its bill that helps it break out of the egg. The egg tooth falls off soon after hatching.