Empty Nesters.

Tamara Nugteren


Well, it's official ~ Francine and Alberto are empty nesters.

Jay and Daisy left the nest sometime this morning (Saturday) at 17 days old.  I was hoping to see them go, but it wasn't meant to be.  I could tell that it would be anytime now and we have been watching them every chance we get from our kitchen window.
For the last two days they have been actively walking around in their nest, fluffing their feathers and looking out.  (Prior to that they did nothing.)  Francine and Alberto have also been loudly encouraging them them to fly during this time.  They were frequently flying up to and around the nest - it was pretty cool to watch.

Close up of Jay and Daisy at 16 days old.
Almost ready to leave!

Jay and Daisy, as viewed through our kitchen
window - a little grainy due to the window screen.
I can't imagine if all 5 had hatched!
That would have been crowded!

The video below shows Jay and Daisy fluffing their feathers and walking around in the nest - this is their last day before flying off! 

 

 This video, below, shows Francine and Alberto taking turns feeding Jay and Daisy.  This was also taken on their last day on the nest.  The parents continued to fly up to and around the nest all day - I assume encouraging the little ones to come out! 

 

You can see two of the unhatched eggs left in
the nest after Jay and Daisy flew off.

Though we can't see Jay and Daisy anywhere, I'm sure they are close by.  We had another Finch nest last year and I was able to watch them leave the nest.  Those babies stayed in a close by bush until they were brave enough for another flight.  Their mother continued to bring them food all day in their new perches.  Such a good mother! I'm sure Francine is doing the same thing.

As soon as I have the chance I'll be moving the Finch family's nest.  I've read that as long as it is there they will come back and lay new eggs - even in the same season.  We have had a lot of fun spying on this family, but it's time to plant my Hens & Chicks (the plant - don't be confused with more birds!) before it dries out in the plastic pot I bought it in.

12 Days Old!

Tamara Nugteren


Well, Daisy and Jay are 12 days old.

They are still fed often by Francine and Alberto (AKA Mom and Dad) and have yet to see beyond the edge of their nest.  But they will soon.  The website wild-bird-watching.com says that a House Finch will leave the nest 11-19 days after hatching.  I guess it depends on how comfortable the nest is!  Since there are only two birdies in their nest, they are not a bit crowded and they don't look like they are in a big hurry to leave. But it is getting a bit nasty around the edges.

We were gone over the weekend, but look how much they have changed in just a couple of days! The last photo was taken only 3 days ago.  This picture is from a few hours ago.  Notice the difference in their feathers.  Amazing, right?

In case you can't tell what you are looking at:
One bird is facing the bottom left corner of the photo
(you can see it's beak) and the other bird is facing
the top right corner of the photo (you can see it's tail feathers).  

Feathers and a cute little turtle.

Tamara Nugteren


Jay and Daisy are starting to get their feathers in - which to our eyes means they are finally getting a little cuter.  If you look closely you can actually see the quills (or, if you were holding a leaf, the equivalent of the stem).  They will keep getting fluffier every day now.

While my husband was mowing the other day, he found this cute little guy walking in the grass. It's a tiny painted turtle - probably making its way to the water after hatching. He is about the size of a silver dollar, but will grow to about 6-7 inches across.

    

The final count is in.

Tamara Nugteren


We are getting a minor in "Finch" this Spring. It's really fun to watch and interesting as well!
But, not everything in nature is as rosy as a Disney film.  After much expectation, it looks as if only 2 of the five eggs will hatch.  Apparently, it is common for some of the eggs to go unfertilized (now I'm curious how that happens, but I think I'll let you Google that on your own...).  When that happens, eventually the mama will throw them out. We'll see.

Since the kids could not agree on bird names, I've decided to call them Jay and Daisy in honor of The Great Gatsby.*  Jay and Daisy are one week old today.

Here is the latest photo.  They are really growing, and they are slightly more attractive.  A few more feathers really help! They are sleeping whenever I check on them, but I'll continue to try to get a picture of them with there big eyes open.

Jay and Daisy taking a nap.

Here are a few House Finch factoids for you:

From www.allaboutbirds.org
"House Finches eat almost exclusively plant materials, including seeds, buds and fruits. Wild foods include wild mustard seeds, knotweed, thistle, mulberry, poison oak, cactus, and many other species. In orchards, House Finches eat cherries, apricots, peaches, pears, plums, strawberries, blackberries, and figs. At feeders they eat black oil sunflower over the larger, striped sunflower seeds, millet, and milo."

From www.birdweb.org/birdweb/bird/house_finch (This one really shows how team parenting is important!)
The female incubates 4 to 5 eggs for 13 to 14 days while the male brings her food. The female broods the young for the first few days after they hatch, and the male continues to bring food. The female then joins the male in bringing food to the young. The young leave the nest after 12 to 15 days and may be fed by the male for about two more weeks, while the female starts a second clutch. Pairs may raise three or more broods each season.

If you or your children want to hear the finch songs and calls, check out this link:
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/House_Finch/sounds

Last, if you haven't seen the video I took of Jay just after he hatched "singing", make sure to check it out here.  It seems as if not everyone was able to view it on my blog. Best with sound.  Enjoy!


* You really need to see The Great Gatsby, if you haven't yet.  If for no other reason, because it has Leo in it. ;-)

Let the hatching begin!

Today, Wednesday, the first egg finally hatched! It took a little longer than we expected, so we have been checking the nest everyday.  The first little bird hatched sometime mid-morning.
This is the cutest and ugliest baby we've seen in a while.
You can see in the first picture, that the little guy was so tired from hatching, he couldn't even lift his heavy little head.  And he only has a couple of feathers - which surprised us.  His giant purple eyes and his mohawk do little to improve his appearance.   In the later picture, his feathers have fluffed up a little bit, making him a little cuter.  We are still thinking of names.... we'll let you know.

One other thing to notice.  In the first picture, you can see the egg shell that he hatched out of.  By the next picture, several hours later, it is gone.  I never wondered about that before, but now I suspect Francine removed it.  It's not on the ground outside the nest, so I guess she carried it off somewhere.  I gotta love an organized bird.  :-)

First picture - his head is so heavy he can't lift it!

Finally, up and hungry!

Before I even had the chance to post this, another little birdie has hatched sometime this evening.  If you look closely, you can see half his the shell fitted around one of the unhatched eggs.

And here is a sweet little video for you to enjoy. (It's better with sound, in my opinion!)
If you have trouble viewing the video, try this link instead:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjkiepuRZco

     

Check back tomorrow - Francine will probably have a full nest by then!

Here she is... Francine.

Tamara Nugteren

I was finally able to get Francine's picture, through our window.  Her mate has been visiting and helping her out today - that was fun to see.  I actually saw him bringing her food!  That is a GREAT dad-to-be.  I'll try to get his picture later.  And I have to find a name for him...

Spying on a finch family.

Tamara Nugteren


We have been very lucky to have a lot of nature within our reach.  Nature - in the city.

Our house is situated on a pond.  Because of that, I currently have the radio and tv off and the windows open so I can listen to a loud, but soothing chorus of frogs.  I can waste quite a bit of time watching chipmunks, ducks and turtles.  But my recent attention has been drawn to the birds.  Now don't get me wrong - I'm not out hiking with binoculars or watching with binoculars.  I'm just enjoying what God has literally put on my doorstep once again (see my 2011 posts about our ducks).    

Last year, we watched a house finch build a nest in one of my hanging plants.  We had a great view to watch them hatch and later learn to fly, since they were right outside our sun room window.  

This year, a mama finch made a nest in a small planter right beside our front door.  I discovered it when I moved decorative sign to plant some little succulents.  I had to abandon that idea - the planter had a new purpose.   For the next - who knows how long - I'm going to update you with pictures and videos (if I can) of our little growing finch family.  Show your kids - mine are watching closely!  

But first, let me get you up to date. Last week Monday (May 13th) is the day I noticed the nest - it had one egg in it.  Francine (that's what I plan to call her...) had busily built her nest unnoticed.   

The little House Finch nest
outside our front door.

May 13, 2013 

Now that we know there is a nest right outside our door - we check it everyday.  That day is when it started to get interesting.  Day two we peeked in the nest to see two finch eggs and one slightly larger brown egg.  And, to our dismay, one shattered egg on the ground below the nest.  What in the world?

Two finch eggs and one Brown-Headed Cowbird egg.

One finch egg overboard.

Some Googling taught us about the Brown-Headed Cowbird.  A lazy scoundrel that lays her eggs in another birds nest so she can pursue other interests*.  To make room for her egg, she tossed one of Francine's out.   

Brown-Headed Cowbird.
Image from: www.AllAboutBirds.org

*Ok, that is a little mean.  Here is some "real" information from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology:
"The Brown-headed Cowbird is a stocky blackbird with a fascinating approach to raising its young. Females forgo building nests and instead put all their energy into producing eggs, sometimes more than three dozen a summer. These they lay in the nests of other birds, abandoning their young to foster parents, usually at the expense of at least some of the host’s own chicks. Once confined to the open grasslands of middle North America, cowbirds have surged in numbers and range as humans built towns and cleared woods." 
 In addition, the Cowbird gets it's name because it originally fed on the insects stirred up by the movement of range cattle.  The bird had to stay with the roaming herds of cattle, thus needing a permanent "birdysitter". 

Normally, humans should not intervene with the wild ways of nature.  However, after I read this next bit of information, I had to.  This nest is right outside my door! 
From the Smithsonian National Zooilogical Park:
"Cowbirds tend to parasitize birds smaller in size than themselves. For example, by the time they are ready to leave (fledge) the nest, most warbler or vireo (the most common cowbird hosts) nestlings weigh less than half as much as cowbird nestlings. In fact, a fledgling cowbird is larger than the adult warblers and vireos! The monstrous cowbird nestling not only can cause host young to starve by monopolizing the food supply brought by parent birds but also literally may crowd host young right out of the nest."
So, I very carefully removed the cowbird egg and donated it - as food - to some other thankful hungry critter living in my yard.  Recipient unknown.  I could not bear to watch that sad soap opera unfold! I'm sure Francine was glad.

By day three, Francine the Finch had replaced the egg and her nest was back up to three.

Sometime between then and now (May 20 - day 8) she has bulked up the nest to five eggs.
She dutifully sits on them, keeping them safe - but startles easily when we come and go from the house.  Today I added on a "wall" to her nest nearest the door of our house to give her more privacy and us a little protection.  A cute flowery wall of the "Puffs Plus" variety.

My Google research tells me that the eggs should hatch in 13-14 days.  So, hopefully I'll have an update for you sometime between the 26th - 29th of the month.  
Check back often! 

Additional information about the House Finch:
(Francine is skittish - I cannot get her to sit still for a photo. Here are some pictures from the web.)

Female House Finch.
www.AllAboutBirds.org

Male House Finch.
www.AllAboutBirds.org

Here is a really interesting tidbit.  I had no idea.  From www.AllAboutBirds.org:

- The House Finch was originally a bird of the western United States and Mexico.  IN 1940 a small number of finches were turned loose on Long Island, New York, after failed attempts to sell them as cage birds ("Hollywood Finches").  They quickly started breeding and spread across almost all of the eastern United States and southern Canada within the next 50 years.

- The total House Finch population across North America is staggering.  Scientists estimate between 267 million and 1.4 billion individuals. 

That website is a treasure trove of information.  You can hear the House Finch song  here.  

While you wait, check out the fun we had raising ducks in a while back.  You can find that by searching my 2011 blog posts.  Enjoy!