Author Archives: momdude

With the finch nest empty, it’s time to note for the record that the yard is far from empty of critters.

We have so many freakin’ bunnies, it stopped being funny weeks ago. Step out of the front door about sunset and there will be at least four or five, plus the couple in the back yard. If I get lucky when I go out to stargaze after sunset, there might be eight or ten. They love the lawn – they hate me.

The lizards, however, are getting more friendly.

First of all, there are more of them. The first summer we were in here I noticed a few, which I liked, since we had dozens of them running around the yard at our old house. Last year, not so many, just a few. But this summer a lot more or back. On the 5th when I was out checking for the missing terrordactyl chicks in the bushes I must have spooked over a dozen lizard dudes.

At the old house I would always stop and talk to the lizards. Because… Whatever, either you get it or you don’t. Yes, I have friendly conversations with the lizards. They never laugh at my jokes, but neither do they diss them, so I figure I’m ahead on points. Real or not, it sure seemed to me that the lizards at the old house recognized me, realized I wasn’t a threat, and after prolonged exposure to my presence (or being stunned by my terrible Dad jokes) they wouldn’t run away unless I got really close or was somehow acting threatening.

Several of the current lizard crop seem to be displaying the same behavior. There’s one in the front yard that won’t skitter away until I’m within a yard or so, and if I stop he’ll sit there all day. (“Oh, god, not HIM again! Why is he talking to me? I just want to sit here in peace and sun my exothermic little butt! Is that too much to ask?”)

Another one in the back yard almost got stepped on by accident he was so reluctant to run away. Maybe he’s the one that likes the jokes? Or he was looking for a handout? What do you feed the lizard who has everything?

Things happened so quickly in the last few days. They went from tiny, weird looking terrordactyls to almost full-sized birds in just a couple of days. Were they ready to leave the nest yet? I didn’t think so given what I was reading on the internet, but there’s always a large grain of salt to be taken there.

Yesterday started as normal, with three hungry mouths.

You’ll note however that “Alpha” was out of the nest completely, the first time I had seen that.

It didn’t take long before he found the limits of that ledge. And couldn’t get turned around to come back without falling off.

There was much flapping and terror, but he managed to get turned around.

Meanwhile, I know what Bravo and Charlie were telling Alpha. (I have siblings!) “You’re gonna be in SOOOOO much trouble when Mom gets back!”

By the time Mom got back, Bravo had managed to fall out of the nest and not be able to get back in. Mama Finch seemed unimpressed.

She started feeding Bravo and Charlie, which didn’t make Alpha too happy.

But she didn’t ignore him.

Eating and keeping his balance was an adventure. I kept waiting for him to fall backwards off the ledge, but he managed.

Eventually everyone got fed, but I don’t think any of the chicks EVER thought they had gotten “enough.” An alien concept to them.

Then I came out to the kitchen and saw that Alpha had lost his battle with gravity. Fortunately, there were plenty of vines there to grab on to.

But he had no idea what to do next, or where to hide when the big, bad human came out and got close with his camera.

He had a death grip on that vine and wasn’t going to let me grab him, but when I moved the vine up to be level with the beam he was happy to hop back off and sulk in his corner.

The last I saw them last night before the moonrise and fireworks, they were all back in the nest and waiting for dinner.

This morning when I got up, there was a notable absence of any fledglings in the nest. Or Mama Finch. Or any of the males.

I checked out the yard. Dozens and dozens of finches up in the trees, like there always are. They’re a long way from being an endangered species here. Along with the crows, hawks, hummingbirds, thrushes, mourning doves, mockingbirds, and seagulls.

But a quick check showed nothing in the nest except for egg #5 which never hatched. (And maybe a leg over on the left – is that what happened to egg #4?) And no activity anywhere near it all day.

I checked the bushes underneath the nest and surrounding the yard. No sign of any fledgling carcasses or fields of feathers from where a hawk or cat might have found an easy meal. I flushed out a LOT of my lizard dudes, asked them all if they had seen any birds on foot, hitchhiking by. None fessed up.

Were those three chicks ready to fly on their own? Maybe? Probably? They were pretty close, at least.

Did all of the commotion for the July 4th fireworks spook them out early? Maybe? Possibly?

This evening when the birds (and bunnies, and lizards) were all out on the lawn feeding, the birds hopping around, we didn’t see any that looked underdeveloped, but there was one that seemed smaller-ish, and he hopped off into the bushes instead of flying off. Was it one of ours?

We’ll never know.

But I’m going to tell myself that they were all ready, and the fireworks and our BBQ may have inspired them to find a safer-feeling spot in a tree, and now they’re doing their flight training and learning how to catch their own food and it’s all going to be abundant seeds and bugs (or whatever they eat) and gentle breezes and nests of their own one of these days.

Yep! That’s what happened!

Talk about a freakin’ growth spurt!

I looked out this evening and everyone was out on the edge of the nest for feeding.

They literally look like they’re 50% bigger than they were just yesterday!

Definitely just three chicks. One unhatched egg that’s been seen, so the fate of #4 remains a mystery. We’ll see what’s in the bottom of the nest in a couple of weeks when everyone leaves.

I thought I might have spotted a fourth about two minutes later from another view, shooting through the screen door. (Thus the sort of funky quality to the image.) There were definitely four heads and everyone was looking at something over by the BBQ, so my first assumption was that Mama Finch had flown off and four chicks were waiting for her. But on closer examination, that’s obviously three chicks and Mama.

No clue was was going on at the BBQ. It wasn’t me – we’re doing our big holiday festival of fire and meat tomorrow.

(Oh, and go watch the “Hamilton” film – words can’t even describe how spectacular it is. At least, not my words.)

I came out of the “office” to the “break room” this morning at one point and found a whole lot of squawking going on.

These two were facing off up near the nest, with another female just below them on the vines, a male up on the crossbeam a couple feet to the right, and another on the refrigerator just outside the window I was shooting through.

I haven’t seen anything about finches raiding each others’ nests or attacking other finches’ nestlings, but that’s sure what seemed to be happening here. When they heard the clicking of the camera shutter one of the males tried to attack me and bashed himself a couple of times against the window before flying off with the third female. These two stared down each other for a minute before the one on the right flew off a couple feet.

The one on the left, presumably Mama Finch, approached the nest carefully and checked it out before hopping up and starting to feed the chicks.

Definitely looks like three chicks. There were several times today when I had a clear view of them being fed and I never saw a fourth.

They’re also starting to exercise those wings. The feathers there are almost full, while they’re still working on the rest of their plumage.

Another week before we start flying lessons? Ten days? They hatched around June 21st and it looks like 21 days “ish” is when the nestlings turn into fledglings and start to learn how to leave the nest.

Man, I really hope this COVID thing is over by then! I don’t know what I’ll do for entertainment if these guys all leave and I’m still stuck here in quarantine!

A couple of new terrordactyl pictures show that there aren’t five chicks in the nest.

I caught them shuffled over to one side this morning and there’s an unhatched egg in there, so there are no more than four chicks.

This picture shows three – but not necessarily a fourth. Their feathers are developing (although that fuzz on their heads still makes them look weird and alien) and their eyes are open, so they’re more normal looking, but this picture just shows a mass of fuzzy feathers and pink skin with a few beaks. I’ve seen three at a time being fed, and maybe kinda sorta if-ish a fourth, but nothing definitive.

Their behavior is interesting. Two seconds before I took this second picture they all had their heads popped up and beaks open above the rim of the next. Mama Finch was nowhere to be seen. I opened the patio door, took three steps to the nest, stepped up on the chair to start taking pictures – and all of them were hunkered down and quiet like tiny little non-bird-like-looking-brown lumps.

That’s what a couple hundred thousand years of evolution will do for you!