Thursday, April 18, 2013

The New House

I can actually find the entire drama of spring without moving my butt from my living room couch.  I just keep an eye on my deck.  I had a pot of some annual that had hung on throughout the entire winter and only died in late February when we finally got a normal freezing winter week.  The remains of the plant were brown and scratchy and I was going to pull it out of the pot and toss it into the woods that very week.  But this one morning, I changed my mind.


Above is the female house finch pulling at the twigs of the dead plant.  The photo is grainy because it was taken through the patio window (unable to use flash) in the dark of the morning with the sun still hidden behind the trees.  She worked quite industriously for some time before she had success.


Ta da!  I watched her go back and forth with twigs and sticks for some time.  The bright red male would land on the railing of the deck, but made no effort to help.  She seemed to be flying to the roof of my house and not into the woods, so I had to open the door to see where this architectural wonder was being constructed.



I actually recognize that green grass and know where it came from!  The above photo shows one of the two speakers that we installed above the deck when we built this house so that we could listen to music from the player inside the house.  It does not get as loud as the boombox from the teenager across the river, but if there is only competition from the birds, I can enjoy the style of music that I like.  Except this discovery makes me think we will be limited in that enjoyment for a while!?


Above is the young "music loving" couple catching their breath as the morning moved on.  The male gave a good impression of ignoring all the work the female was doing.  There is always a sidewalk superintendent on every major project it seems!


"Hey Hun, do you need some help with that?"


"Ooops!  I think you dropped some!"

15 comments:

  1. I think Mr. Wren is on to something!

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  2. If only we had the stamina of these birds. I get tired just thinking about all their efforts.

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  3. Love the birds. I went out to trim an overgrown bush before it leafed out only to find a bird nest nestled inside it. Looks to be used often if you can tell such things and I see the little wrens are back so I'll be living with the huge shrub after all.

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  4. Our Mr Blackbird is busy collecting twigs at the moment. No sign of Mrs yet. I think she's waiting for the house to be built before moving in!

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  5. she probably told him to butt out knowing she'd have to redo any of his efforts.

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  6. Great story. You will have entertainment all summer.

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  7. I love how you love your birds. And what would he know about decorating, anyway?

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  8. Mr.Finch seems a pretty worthless husband. It amazes me what complicated nest little birds can build.

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  9. Too cute. You may have to pipe out some lullabyes for the wee babies.

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  10. What a great vision to capture on camera. The only negative about birds building nests on the side of your home is the bird poop that seems to follow!

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  11. We saw those amazing finches in Canada - I had no idea what kind they were, but they're so beautifully vibrant :)

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  12. Slow and steady...it is always amazing at what they can accomplish!
    Good lesson for us all.
    hugs
    SueAnn

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  13. That female is certainly doing all the work. That male house finch is awfully beautiful though. I always confuse house finches with the purple finches.

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  14. My daily entertainment
    watching the many birds that visit.
    On music
    at a really big home
    music was outside
    Loved it...
    Now I put a small tape player outside and play nature tapes.

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  15. They are lovely! You took wonderful photos!

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Glad to hear from you once again. I really like these visits. Come sit on this log and tell me what you are thinking.