Meet Homer and Marge, fondly referred to as Margie and Holmes, who have chosen to bring their babies into this world in our spindly, unassuming, glorified houseplant that lives outside on our small patio.
It was lovely to watch them work as a team to collect their nesting materials, flying to and from the patio together.
Most often Homer would sit just outside the patio chirping away in Margie’s direction as she threaded the items together. We wondered if he was cheering her on or telling her to hurry up…
To be fair, he did help inside the nest too!
The observer.
We had some serious concerns about the quality of the construction, seeing many discarded sticks in the pot at the base of the plant, but soon they spent more time inside the nest!
When I was sure the parents were away, I reached my phone up above my head. Not able to see the viewfinder I tapped the camera a couple times and stepped down. To my delight I saw three speckled green eggs in my camera roll! And a perfect looking nest! Well done team!
We had a backyard gathering and were worried it would deter them from their home base. They sat away and at times flew bravely toward the nest only to turn around as they got close. Were the eggs getting too cold?! We moved the party around the corner to give them some time to fly in.
They returned.
Within a couple days Mum and Dad seemed to be preoccupied by something happening in the bottom of the nest.
Similarly to when we captured the iPhone photo of the eggs, I reached up and saw…
HELLO baby finches!
Mummy and Daddy have been attentive and feeding often.
Taking turns regurgitating seeds.
Unfortunately, we’re only seeing two babies now, and as you can see in this photo, it appears the third baby did hatch, but died early. Below our sweet little Benjamin Button, is a little foot and feathers of the lost baby. We are staying positive for Benny B and sister Daisy (or maybe Daze-E if we learn it’s a brother.)
We will keep you posted!
-Blair
The Big Year 2021 