Another fine warm and sunny day - not only for the humans, but also the Blue Tit family.

Life around the nest has settled down to normality and both parents are having times of madness as they go back and forth from the box to the trees in the garden in search of food.

Chick 1 is now 8 days old
Chicks 2 + 3 are 7 days old
Chick 4 is just 5 days old

These little chaps are growing so quickly, and all it has taken is a week (for the eldest):

Their eyes are still closed and won't open for a few days yet, but those necks are getting longer, and beaks ever wider as the continual supply of food enters the box.

We're still closely watching chick number 4, the youngster of the family. At times it looks as if it loses out to food as the others tower above it, but when it wants to make itself known, it seems to be able to open that beak just about as much as the others:

The chicks can be left for some quite long periods of time sometimes, and when they've all gone quiet, and food isn't on the menu you would hardly know anything was in there.

It's just the tell-tale sign of an as yet underdeveloped yellow beak that gives them away:

Their once pink bodies are giving way to patchy darker skin, and these areas are the ones that will develop feathers first.

What looked like little arms a few days ago are now beginning to develop into wings on the older ones:

Four chicks in the nest huddle together between feeds this lunchtime, and the one in the middle quite definitely shows it's the oldest.

Another sign of age is the eyes. The oldest ones now have clear dots on their heads and life might begin to come into focus for them quite soon:

And those legs, they're getting somewhat longer too:

All in all, these are very encouraging signs after the concerns over feeding a few days ago, and if the parents continue to look after them as they are doing, there is a very good chance all will make it to fledging.

Sorting The Nest
Mum spends a lot of time sorting the nest (and the chicks).

There's always something to do, and she often reaches deep to check for bugs and other things.

If you're a chick, this can be an experience in its own right, as you get pushed to the side whilst the sometimes vigorous housework is carried out:

Make way for mum, she's got some food and she really needs to get on with the chores again!

Reaching Skywards
It's easy to forget what the side camera sees sometimes, but just look at those chicks, reaching skyward as dad brings sustenance for the higher bidder:

The skyward meals are delivered here.

Mealworms are still being put out every 4 hours or so, and they are really getting the hang of it.

We almost get the impression that they hear us now, as they seem to start disappearing from the container and entering the box only minutes after they are put out.