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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 17, Day 13: This chick's flight feathers are fully grown. In a few days there will be several chicks bumbling around in the trees near the nestbox as they work on learning to take off, land, and steer a straight line.
flyaway > May 10, Day 6: Dad dive-bombed us repeatedly today. When I tried to put the ruler into the box to take a photo, he flew right into the back of my hand trying to chase the big blue predator away from his babies.
flyaway > May 23: DAY 6 One chick is flapping its tiny wings with excitement!
flyaway > May 18: DAY 1 All five eggs hatched some time in the past 48 hours, most likely this morning. Three are peeping and gaping lustily; one is a little less active; the last is still exhausted from hatching. I hope the youngest hatchling is okay.
flyaway > May 9: The five chicks have rearranged themselves into a radial pattern to make the most of the space in the round nest cup. It's amazing how they know to do this!
flyaway > May 9: No additional eggs have been laid. This will be a clutch of five.
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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