They're Back!!

Well, no video (at least not for now) but this past weekend I realized a Finch family was nesting on our porch. 

I had been expecting Mama Finch to use one of the other posts as that is where she nested last year but this time she's on the post closest to the front door. 

A small brood this time, just two eggs so far. It is possible she wasn't done yet though so I'll check again this weekend. 

Stay tuned!

 Meanwhile, in other news, no luck so far in having an owl family move in. The owl house I mounted on one of our Cedar Elm's last year is now home to a squirrel family. 

I had been shooing Mama Squirrel out of the owl house every few days in the first few months of this year and she seemed to have finally gotten the message. However, we were gone for a week and came home to find things sticking out of the entrance to the owl house and when I checked it turned out to be half full of sticks, grass, etc. More to the point, it was full of squirrel. 

I tried as I had in the past to shoo her out but this time not only would she not leave, she was very vocal. Given her change in behavior, I have to assume she already has a litter. 

Now, we wait. In about 10-12 weeks, her pups should be moved out at which time I'll clean out the owl house and close it up for a while. Maybe the next time I open it, an owl will get to it first. 

Watching the Nest

With the latest clutch of chicks large enough to sit up in the nest, it was fun to pull up the live stream for grandkids Harper and Jack to watch on the TV.

Feeding Time for June Chicks

The June chicks have hatched and within a few days were large enough to see in the nest as they crane their necks, mouths wide, for food from their parents.

June Eggs Have Hatched!

The June clutch has hatched. Lots of activity on the nest these days as the parents come and go with four hungry mouths to feed. Watch the live feed for glimpses of the chicks each trying to get their share.

It's amazing how fast they grow... before you know it, these chicks will have fledged!

New Finch Nest Under Construction

Momma Finch abandoned the nest she built in early March and instead has started building a new one on top of the next post over on our porch. Hopefully, we'll see some eggs in the next week or so.

A New Finch Nest!

The May brood of Finch chicks fledged about 10 days ago so I went out today to check the nest, see whether Momma Finch has started preparing for her next clutch of eggs.

She absolutely has, though not as she did the last time. This time, instead of cleaning up the nest, trimming the edges and adding new material, she abandoned the original nest and started a new one the next post over.

The new nest is still a bit crude, sticks hanging over the edge, and there are no eggs yet. However, based on past behavior, within the next week or so we should see eggs in the nest, first one or two then within a few days as many as six.

I've removed the old nest and cleaned up the top of that post. I've also moved the video camera, so that the live stream is of the new nest. Join me in watching over the next month or so as this Finch pair start raising their third brood of 2020.

Nest Update: 4 Eggs

After doing a little more research on finches, I discovered that it may take several days for Mom to lay all her eggs. Since the March clutch had 4 eggs but there were only 2 eggs in the nest when I checked a few days ago, I took another look today. Sure enough, now there are 4!

Stay tuned to watch the May clutch hatch, feed, grow and fledge.

More Eggs!

After the first brood of finch chicks fledged, the mother started adding new material to the nest and cleaning it up but was only around a few times a day. Last night, the mother spent the night on the nest for the first time in weeks. I took advantage of a time this evening when she was away from the nest to take a look, and found there is a new clutch of eggs. Just two this time, but that's not unusual. According to a Wild Bird Watching article on Finches, they typically lay between 2 and 6 eggs at a time. So, for the next few weeks, most of the activity will be the parents coming and going and the mother spending a lot of time sitting the nest but it won't be long before there will be new chicks to watch. Enjoy!

Feeding Time in the Nest

Finch Nest (streamed live on April 15th)

Inside the Finch Nest

Once the comings and goings of the parents caught our attention, the obvious next step was to find out what they had in the nest. At this point, there appeared to be two hatchlings and one or more eggs.