The chicks - day 1

Chick number 3...
The Blackbird eggs have started hatching, right on time. This is all I have photographed today - there are a couple of others, tracking progress over a few hours.
At 2.00 pm, there were two chicks hatched, at 3.15, the third was hatching (see above).
At 6.30 pm the fourth has yet to hatch.
The mother flew off when she saw me, as she does, so I took a quick snap and went back inside.
A few minutes later I heard one of the chicks calling (quite loudly) and the mother answering from the bushes, so I shut the door to give her a chance to get back to the nest without getting anxious.
It is a bit inconvenient having this nest right at my front door - she has a wonderful view in all directions and she always, no matter how sneaky I am, sees me coming. Still, it hasn't stopped her hatching her eggs. I'll give her a bit more time to warm the chicks up before I go out again (next door, for another delectable smoked trout dinner - perhaps with rice and mango and Maudie's home grown zucchinis and leeks...)

They look like uncooked entrees at the moment, but I'm sure the rest of that down will come in thick and fast over the next few days. I'll keep you posted...