We have four Bluebird boxes on poles in our yard and one standard box with a side opening attached to the fence. With all the gardening chores done yesterday, I went around and checked the boxes. Disappointingly, no action was found in the Bluebird boxes. The box with the side opening took me completely by surprise. It was piled high with nesting material and a bird was sitting on top, its face below the nest edge. Very gently I took my finger and pressed down on the nest and a pair of eyes gleamed at me. Then WOOSH! It flew out like lightning. Peeking inside further, I found six cream-colored mottled eggs. 

Today I checked the nest again. Got my camera all set up first so I could be quick about it. I had just planned on photographing the eggs. But to my amazement, two little hatchlings were squirming around. I got off about 10 shots with mama squawking frantically nearby. And rightfully so. I will leave them alone for now and maybe check again in a week. Here you can see their big black eyes not even open, naked bodies with one feather each, and rather prominent beaks. It's going to take a lot of discipline on my part to stay away LOL.

94/366Chickadee Hatchlings
100mm | f/7.1 | ISO 400 | 1/40 sec