May 14, Day 10: The chicks are really overflowing the nest cup now. You can see the difference in their ages -- the feathers of the chicks at the bottom of the picture are almost completely grown in, with only the very edges of the sheaths visible, while the feathers of the nestling sprawled on top of its siblings and the one at top left are just beginning to poke out.

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 11, Day 7:

A parent watches anxiously from a nearby branch (extreme right) when Ken looks into the nestbox.

flyaway > May 12, Day 8:

Most of the chicks have three layers of feather sheaths on their wings now, and the older nestlings are starting to sprout them everywhere. The younger chicks still have naked backs except for a strip down the spine. The last one to hatch (lower left) is just beginning to get feathers on its head.

They are all developing so fast! Their bills have gotten quite dark, and the translucent pink feet they had when they were born have become just like an adult chickadee's, dark gray with full-sized claws. They no longer gape for us no matter what we do; when the box is opened they just hunker down and play dead.

flyaway > May 12, Day 8:
The largest chicks' heads are now a half-inch in diameter -- two-thirds the size their entire bodies were when they hatched!

flyaway > May 13, Day 9:
All seven nestlings are still healthy and growing, and their feathers are starting to sprout out of the ends of the sheaths.

flyaway > May 13, Day 9:
The nestlings are almost twice the size they were just nine days ago. Now that their tailfeathers are starting to grow they will increase in length very rapidly, since birds are measured from the tip of the bill to the tip of the tail.

flyaway > May 13, Day 9:
Their eyes are open! And although they're still pretty wobbly, they're starting to stand on their feet.

flyaway > May 13, Day 9:
Here you can clearly see the ends of the feathers emerging from the sheaths, and the typical Carolina Chickadee color pattern.

flyaway > May 13, Day 9:
Their tailfeathers are growing in, and they're finally beginning to look a little fuzzy. Only a small strip down either side of the chicks' backs are still naked.

flyaway > May 14, Day 10:
The chicks are really overflowing the nest cup now. You can see the difference in their ages -- the feathers of the chicks at the bottom of the picture are almost completely grown in, with only the very edges of the sheaths visible, while the feathers of the nestling sprawled on top of its siblings and the one at top left are just beginning to poke out.

May 14, Day 10:

The chicks are really overflowing the nest cup now. You can see the difference in their ages -- the feathers of the chicks at the bottom of the picture are almost completely grown in, with only the very edges of the sheaths visible, while the feathers of the nestling sprawled on top of its siblings and the one at top left are just beginning to poke out.