All seven chicks hatched

So its been about two days since the first chick hatched in the blue tit nest in the camera nest box at the end of our garden. Chick number 6 hatched yesterday, as it was getting dark, and chick number 7 hatched this evening. Both parents are feeding the chicks very frequently and the chicks are already starting to grow.

I was a little bit worried about the seventh chick, as it hatched about two days after the first. But I was happy to see that the very first feed after the seventh chick hatched went straight to the new chick. Both parents are feeding roughly the same amount each.

The video below shows the scene just after the sixth chick hatched yesterday- all six chicks looking healthy in the box. The seventh egg was hidden under the pile of chicks, so it couldn't be seen :-)

The clip below shows both parents feeding the six chicks (the female comes in first, then the male comes in after). The female then stays in the box and tidies up the nest before settling down on the chicks.

The clip below shows the male bringing in a meal for the chicks. As you can see, the chicks were already strong enough to lift their necks up quickly to accept the food from the parents.

The video below shows both parents feeding the chicks again (male comes in first, then the female). The female settles down on the chicks after she has fed them. She still spends a fair amount of time sitting on the nest, with one egg unhatched at this stage.

Later on in the day, I was starting to wonder if the seventh egg would hatch, or whether it would remain unhatched, as is quite often the case with one egg in a nest. So I was quite surprised when I looked over to my laptop screen to see Mrs blue tit eating an egg shell- the seventh chick had just hatched, almost exactly two days after the first egg hatched. I didn't capture the exact moment, but the clip below shows the situation just after the chick had hatched...

Shortly after the last chick had hatched, chick number 7 got fed, which made me smile- I was quite worried that the seventh chick was noticeably smaller than the others, given that it hatched later. I didn't manage to record that feed, but the clip below shows the parents coming in a few times, feeding the seven chicks. In this clip, it was difficult to see which chick was actually being fed, as the parents were in the way, but as I am watching the TV now, I can see that the smallest chick is definitely getting its share of the food.

So things are looking good at this stage, I just hope it continues. I sometimes do forget how lucky we are to be watching a family of blue tits bring up their young. We've probably all seen blue tit families nesting on programs like Springwatch, but it really is something different when they are in your own garden. Hopefully this nesting story will be a success in the end :-)