Remember the chicks we told you about the other day, when their “black feathers were just starting to show”?

In about a week since then, they’ve transformed completely.

The fluffy down has almost disappeared, and their whole bodies are now covered in glossy feathers.

The chestnut-red that’s so characteristic of adult swallows has started to appear around their throats, too.

Lined up and gazing back at you, they already wear a proper swallow’s face.

Count them up, and the nest is packed with chicks. As their bodies have grown, the little nest has become quite cramped.

Some press up against each other, with faces and tails poking out over the rim.

This crowded feeling is the surest sign that fledging is near.

When a parent returns, they all flutter their wings at once in a great commotion!

Their strength in begging for food has grown sturdy, too.

From hatching to fledging takes about three weeks. The chicks right now are in exactly that final stage.

Within the next few days, the parents will begin coaxing them out into the wider world—calling from a little distance, or flying around the nest to show them how.

At first the chicks flutter clumsily up to a nearby wire, and for a while they keep practicing their flying while still being fed by the parents.

The time they have left in the nest is just a little while now. The sight of the chicks you can meet at this very moment is truly a now-or-never scene.

This spring story that began with the eggs is finally reaching its final chapter.

We’ve gathered the story of their growth up to this point in our earlier articles.

Related article : A Growth Diary of Our Swallow Chicks

Related article : A little spring visitor that brings good luck has arrived at Fortune Inn

The last few days in the nest, before they fly freely through the sky.

Won’t you come to Fortune Inn to quietly see them off?

One small request.

Chicks close to fledging are very delicate.

If startled, they can even fall from the nest, so please don’t touch the nest, and watch over them quietly from a little distance.

We’d be very grateful.