Tuesday, October 16, 2007

2 days old


Look at that beak! Im not tricking you here, yesterdays shot is one day old and todays shot is two days old - amazing growth in 24 hours. They wont be in the nest for very long.

It was HOT yesterday, the chicks were panting to cool themselves. Mum and Dad are bringing food in relays, and in between deliveries the chicks sleep. Sleeping conserves thier energy so they can grow faster. A system that obviously works very well!

16 comments:

Lavender said...

Its 30c already (about 86f) and its not even 9am yet! These little guys will be panting alot today, hope they dont get cooked....spring was very short, wasnt it?

merlinprincesse said...

WOW! They are really geting bigger! That's THE SECRET!!!! From now on, I stop sleeping and eating insects... :) I have a few pounds to loose...Hehhehe... :)

Anonymous said...

You're right Lavender, it's Summer already!!! *pant pant* I'm guessing they will be out of the nest in two weeks heehee :)

Ces Adorio said...

Aaaw Lavender, they are so precious, so delicate. God bless Mother Wattle for taking care of them. But they look like they are not fully developed. They almost look embryonic. These are great shots. What a great series Lavender. Thanks for sharing.

Barkfoot said...

Wow, that's amazing growth, what are mom & dad feeding them?

Lavender said...

MerlinPrincesse LOL! Good one, Mate....you should be right now that youve ID'd the trouble hehehe:)

Anon Yes, thats about what I thought, two weeks. I based that on your report of the Red Wattle Bird chicks being in thiers for that long - so, Thanks Anon!!
Tehehe

Ces Youre onto it there Ces! I just marvel at all the different ways we all come to the world... just born human, cat, bird, marsupial...what an incredible assortment of survival and reproduction strategies there are...its astounding! And Thank you :)

Barkfoot Glad you asked! Nectar, pollen and some sap, as well as the secretions from some insects like aphids and scales which is really sweet apparently (Im not going to try any in the name of research tho!:)
Top those off with insects - and you have a well balanced diet of complex carbs(?) and proteins - yum yum!! LOL


Incidentally...today I confirmed my suspicion that this pairs chick from thier first nest this year, is still with them! He has spent most of today in a bottlebrush tree calling pitifully to be fed, and generally being a nuisance to his folks who are busy with these two....he is very capable of taking care of himself, he just wants to stay a chick forever....who doesnt?! LOL

Unknown said...

I feel sorry for the old little chick. Poor thing.....

BetteJo said...

Sounds a bit like a jealous sibling when the new one comes home!
Awesome pic Lavender!

Anonymous said...

Think mine 'fell' out of nest a bit early due to weather, so you might get longer than two weeks Lavender :) Their big brothers also hang about! 36 degrees! *pant*

Nick Phillips (15/03/1967 - 04/11/2022) said...

wow, it must be awesome to actually get to watch it live Lavender. I envy you :) And yeah, they do grow pretty fast in 24 hours don't they? Great shots ...

Lavender said...

Pawhealer I feel sorry for them too, and today did get bad, not sure what the temp got up to today, but it was melting me!

BetteJo LOL Id bet youre right there, good old fashioned sibling rivalry Tehehe!

Anon Oh, possibly more than 2 weeks, well that would suit me if not thier parents Hehehe - wasnt it blistering today?! And now there is a cold front coming thru? The temps plummeted, I wont get another shot of them today - hope the earlier ones come up alright :)

Nick Thanks Nick - it really is amazing, too bad I dont have time lapse video equipment LOL!

I havent been able to go out blog reading today, and it may be late tommorrow before I can...but see you all ASAP Cheers!

Jean-Luc Picard said...

Such a visible difference in 24 hours.

The Lone Beader® said...

Awwww... this photo is precious:)

Lavender said...

Captain Its incredible, and I wonder if it is as uncomfortable as I imagine it - growing that fast...:)

Lone Beader Thanks Lone Beader, and thanks for stopping by too! :)

HARDWAX said...

You know I looked at the picture, and the first thing that came to my mind-the amazing beak, wow, huge!
Lucky babes, they have wonderful parents.

Lavender said...

Hardwax I was amazed to say the least when I first saw how fast that happened - so much growth in 24 hours!