Easter Eggs

The Wednesday before Easter, I kept the little kids home from school. They were a little bit upset that they were missing the kindergarten Easter egg hunts, but their pouting didn't last long. In fact, it quickly turned to excited giggles as we discovered the chickadees were hatching. We took turns peeking in at the progress and learned that three eggs hatched Wednesday late afternoon, and the other three hatched Thursday afternoon. The eggs were too tiny to see the protrusions or cracks, so each time we found a new chick, we were really surprised! I always think it is fun to see the new lives hatching from the shells, but when it happens as spring is beginning and as Easter approaches, it seems even more special to me. Here is a collage of the wee ones' first week:

 

The fun continued! This past Tuesday, I noticed the bluebird eggs were showing the little bumps showing the birds inside were about to break out. A few hours later, I went to check on them and one was hatching. Since I can't really get pictures of the bluebirds with my regular camera, we had to depend on the video camera inside. The kids and I gathered around my computer and watched the first bluebird break free. Our view was obstructed by Sialia, but even the kids were giddy when mama bird moved to the side and they could see the new little peep. We all learned something new that night -- I knew the mama moved the egg shells because they were never left in the nests; what I didn't realize was that she just eats the shell. We watched Sialia pick up her chick and move it to the side of the nest so she could clean up. We also got to see another start hatching, then the next morning, we checked the camera at breakfast and watched Sialia clean up after the rest had emerged. The kids laughed and laughed at the big eyed heads attached to a tiny naked, but fuzzy body, especially when one stumbled about with a shell on its head like a misfitting helmet. Sialia picked the babes up with her beak and moved them around as she crunched away at the shells.

I'm thrilled that all the nest eggs have hatched in both nests. The kids remember both bird families in their dinner prayers each night, and we are all hoping they survive this stage of life.