I have watched the footage back today and can only see 6 chicks. I can’t see any eggs though, which is a bit confusing. Maybe the very newly hatched chicks are not gaping clearly yet, so I can’t see them. The female is still spending quite a lot of time in the nestbox, with the male bringing food to her and her feeding the chicks. Sometimes the male will feed them as well. They are still pretty naked though, so the female must be keeping them warm…. it has been pretty cold here today.
The chicks need a fair amount of prompting to gape clearly. The parents have to move very close to the chicks before they start gaping. I presume as they get older, they will be more sensitive to movement.
Here are some shots from today…… thought it was quite comical how all they all created a circle of beaks!
