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Hatching Out: Mother Nature's "Escape Room"

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Bigleaf lupine (Lupinus polyphyllus; photo by Irina Kostenich)
“Have you ever wondered how a tiny chick manages to break itself out of a very hard shell...?
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Welcome to the world, lil' birds! All around us - on eaves of porches, cliff edges and tree branches, barns, and beaches - nests are coming alive as chicks hatch out into the big, wild world.

Have you ever wondered how a tiny chick manages to break itself out of a very hard shell - a shell hard enough to hold the weight of an incubating parent?

The process is miraculous.

When a fully-developed chick is ready to hatch, it combines the strong muscles it has grown on the back of its head and neck, with the chiseling power of its egg tooth, to break its way out. Both of these features are temporary - the hatching muscles will atrophy and the tooth will fall off after hatch.

But even before the chick begins breaking out, it has to prepare the egg environment for its escape. It literally sucks any remaining fluid out of the egg to make an air space in which to work, absorbing the remaining yolk as food. In this space the chick takes its first breath and begins peeping and "pipping" (cracking the shell open).

Finally, when the shell has been broken open, the chick uses it's head and legs to fully emerge.

That's how the Breakout Games work in Mother Nature's Escape Room!

I hope you enjoyed this Phenology Note!

Join me in witnessing the seasons of our wild world.

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#ThePersonalEcologistI partner with eco-minded landowners to create thriving wildlife habitats in their backyards, gardens, fields and farms, woods or campuses - at any scale.I have 25 years of experience in my field, and a lifelong commitment to wi…

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I co-create biodiverse habitats with eco-minded stewards throughout the Northeast - at any scale.

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Deborah Perkins