Feathers ~ Amazing Picture

Today is day 8 for our baby finches.  Mom and dad spend most of the day getting food and returning to the nest to feed the chicks, then off again to find more food (I guess). Mom does sit on the nest at night.  Yesterday I didn't see the mom at all until she returned to the nest around dusk... then I wasn't watching all day 'cuz I had to watch the NASCAR race.

I was taking pictures of the baby finches this morning.  While I was taking pictures of the baby finches I was also taking pictures of me taking pictures. Guess I was just born a multi-tasker... or maybe just a geek.

Here is want I have for you today:

1. A short video of me taking pictures of the chicks. Nothing spectacular, just different.
2. A picture of the 3 chicks clearly showing their sprouting feathers.
3. A cropped and enlargement of the same pictures.
4. A cropped and enlargement of the cropped and enlarged picture.

The last 2 [amazing] pictures clearly show the feathers starting to emerge from the shaft. They look like paint brushes.  This is what I found to be amazing... not just the feathers but that they show up so clearly using my auto-focus camera. 

You have to get close for a close-up

Original picture with good definition of the tail, wing and head feathers.

Enlargement of the previous picture. You can clearly see the feather shafts. Note the open eye at the top.  There are
a lot of things to see in this picture.

Still closer inspection of the future feathers. See the paint brushes? WOW!

So many changes in just 8 days... While watching the chicks through the window I see from time to time they are exercising their little wings. I also heard them making that "cheep-cheep" sound that most of us have heard. It happened yesterday when I was spy'n on 'em and dad came by to feed them. Ginger hears it all the time but for my ears it was a rare treat.

There you have it for this morning. 

Whoohoo!!!!

P.S. Gourds erupted from the ground = 14 this morning.