Four baby house finches

The avian gods shone their light upon me, allowing me the delight of witnessing four new house finch fledglings. I couldn’t believe my eyes.

I was sitting at my dining room table, when I looked out on the deck and saw this adorable bird. Hmm, what is that? At first, I thought it was a wren, due to the way the tail was flipping up. Then I thought it was a young grosbeak, but after watching it for a while, then seeing its siblings with a parent, there was no mistaking them. Adorable house finches.

This was my first experience with fledged finches and my husband, and I were thrilled to be able to watch them on and off this afternoon. I was also able to capture them with my Canon RP and a 400 mm lens. I was on cloud nine. But it got even better when I viewed the footage on my bird cam in the backyard. Lo and behold, there they were in all their glory.

What a great day for birding. I’m still beaming!

DAY TWO

It’s amazing how much babies grow and change in one 24-hour period. More sure-footed today. The following were taken this morning.

One thing I noticed is how the four fledglings tend to stay together as one. I hadn’t witnessed this before with any other birds in our backyard. Watching robins for several years in a row (they would nest in our overhead light fixture), once the individual members of the brood fledged, they remained by themselves unless they were with a parent for extended feedings.
Looking up facts online, I discovered that they often stay together in a group, including the parents and offspring, primarily due to social behaviors and cooperative breeding strategies. Fascinating that the young birds may help their parents raise subsequent broods, a behavior known as cooperative breeding.

The babies have already tried a variety of provided food, including peanuts, strawberries, sunflower seeds and safflower. They are quite trusting too, each time allowing me within feet of them, reminding me more of rose-breasted grosbeaks, who are quite comfortable around me, as opposed to skittish birds like bluejays, cowbirds and redwing blackbirds, who take off at a moment’s notice.

My friend noticed how different they look from male parent. It’s true and it can be confusing. Male and female finches look quite distinct from each other, while other birds, such as the male and female bluebirds, look identical. Here’s some identification features regarding finches on Cornell Lab’s page to help you through your journey.

Interesting facts

House Finches nest in a variety of deciduous and coniferous trees as well as on cactus and rock ledges. They also nest in or on buildings, using sites like vents, ledges, streetlamps, ivy, and hanging planters.

A House Finch’s nest is a cup made of fine stems, leaves, rootlets, thin twigs, string, wool, and feathers, with similar, but finer materials for the lining. Overall width of the nest is 3-7 inches, with the inside cup 1-3 inches across and up to 2 inches deep.

Clutch Size: 2-6 eggs
Number of Broods: 1-6 broods
Egg Length: 0.6-0.8 in (1.6-2.1 cm)
Egg Width: 0.5-0.6 in (1.3-1.5 cm)
Incubation Period: 13-14 days
Nestling Period: 12-19 days
Egg Description: Pale blue to white, speckled with fine black and pale purple.
Condition at Hatching: Naked except for sparse white down along feather tracts, eyes closed, clumsy.