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!