Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Finches - I Got 'Em

A number of years ago a friend gave me a wind chime that I hung on my front porch.  The chime portion is bamboo sections that make nice 'plocking' noises when there's an east wind.  The top portion is a terra cotta cat.  It's not solid - it has filigree work on the side & a large hole where the tummy would be.

A couple of years after I initially hung it, a couple members of the local house finch population decided the tummy hole would be a great place to raise a family.  Off & on since then, I've been landlord to any number of finch families.  Some years there are none.  Other years - like this year, there have been 2 families. 

I don't think it's the same birds raising 2 separate families.  The first family was tended by a female who didn't mind my being nosy until I got a bit too close.  The 2nd family's mother is a bit more skittish.  Anytime I walk out the front door, she flies to a nearby tree.  In any case, it's always fun to see the babies - looking so scruffy & cute/ugly.  And for such little birds, they do make a whole lotta noise when a parent shows up with food.

In the meantime, I get to be amused by the irony of local birds making a home in the tummy of a terra cotta cat.

Papillon

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