Great news! The first of the 2008 Glaslyn chicks hatched this morning, just a few hours ago. The youngster began to break through the shell at 6:45am and took around an hour or so to fully emerge.
Our first full views from the next-cam were of a pink, goosepimply body flopping around.
In fact, as you can see from the image, it is pretty peculiar looking and certainly wouldn't win any 'bonny baby' awards - but we love it all the same. For now, it is completely helpless and still sort of egg-shaped, but it won't take too long for it to develop a little more.
Later today it's eyes should open and we should see the parents give a first feed. Visitors today and over the weekend should be in for a real treat. Not least because we expect the second chick to hatch in the next couple of days. Perhaps next time it will happen when we have visitors in the centre watching it live!
The female has been up and down all morning, sitting and standing, then turning around a few degrees to sit and stand facing in another direction. She is still incubating the remaining two eggs, and so the new chick is finding itself back underneath her again for much of the time. It will need to be kept warm and protected as it gets used to being exposed to the outside World.
The male was sat on the nest for the first parts of hatching, but perhaps the intensity of it all became too much, because he retired to a nearby tree for a little alone-time after around half an hour.
So, chick number one has joined us. We can look forward to a great few months of watching this little one develop. The ultimate success stage will come in mid-July when it takes its first flight from the nest and begins to become independent. How exciting!