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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.
flyaway > May 5, Day 1: The sixth chick has emerged, and all six are squirming. The hatchlings' skin is still translucent; you can see veins and large muscles through it. Their eyes are still closed -- they'll open in about a week. Any stimulus makes the chicks gape. The sight of that huge mouth - as wide as the chick's entire head - stimulates the parents to put food into it. The seventh egg has still not hatched. I hope the chick is all right.
flyaway > May 4, Day 0 - BirthDay: Five chicks have hatched -- some just in the past hour or so. The sixth eggshell is cracked but the chick has not yet emerged. The seventh egg - the last one laid - is still unbroken. The hatchlings are exhausted from the strenuous job of breaking out of their shells, and just flop down fast asleep wherever they are. While they rest, the parents carry away all the broken shell fragments to keep the nest soft, clean and safe. The eyes look enormous in the tiny heads because songbirds' eyes start out at full adult size, and the hatchlings gradually grow into them. But they're still undeveloped, and won't open for a week. Their ears are also still sealed - the ear-holes will open in a few days. You can see the yolk of the egg in the abdomen of the chick closest to the bottom of the photo. The yolk nourishes the embryo during development. Shortly before hatching, the yolk sac withdraws into the abdomen to continue providing nourishment for the first few days of life. Once it has fully retracted, the navel closes and heals, and the chick is ready to hatch.
flyaway > May 8, Day 4: The chicks are now about an inch long.
flyaway > May 8, Day 4: Since yesterday the chicks have developed ear-holes, and have recognizable feather sheaths on their wings.
flyaway > May 9, Day 5: Although they're getting bigger, a 5-day-old baby chickadee still looks awfully tiny when held in my hand. It squirmed and tried to flap its wings at first, then simply lay down and played dead.
flyaway > May 9, Day 5: This picture was reduced to reflect the actual size of my hand. When viewed at its original size of 415x311 pixels, this is just about how big the chick is today.
flyaway > May 9, Day 5: One of the chicks stretches its neck waaay out to get its head above the others and thus be the one to get the food.
flyaway > May 7, Day 3: The chicks are growing fast.
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.
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 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.
See photo in gallery
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