No more excitements like those of yesterday. However, Fluffy's chicks are developing fast.
I have seen slightly open eyes twice on the television, but have not been able to catch one to show you here. However, the chicks juvenile wing feathers are clearly visible.
First the almost obligatory picture of Neptune, still pining for what might have been after all this time.
This was taken at about seven o'clock this morning.
I thought that this was a good picture to show a chick's growing wing feathers. As they arch their backs so that they can deliver their parcel of poo to a parent, they often also stretch out their wings.
Here you can see the right wing of a chick which clearly shows an early growth of feathers together with it's white markings near the trailing edge.
The sacs of poo are now getting quite big and are no longer being eaten, even by mum. They appear to consist of a white parcel wrapped in a gelatine like substance will a black plug attached at the end. This is the last bit evacuated.
This one is even more dramatic s you can see both wings. You can also see that the chick's head feathers have a white band forming around the head.
Here the sac is still being evacuated, the big white end first.
A second or so later, mum has taken the sac and subsequently flies out with it.
You can see that where the chick's body is covered by its wings, it has little other feathers and shows up as a pink area of skin. These areas will start to fill in soon.