Waiting On The Cute

So the birds hatched sometime in the last two weeks.

At first they were nothing more than little gray fuzzballs and it was kind of hard to make out beaks and other features.

I had researched a bit so knew that they wouldn’t make much noise the first little while but it was still funny to see them as they got older stretch their necks up and open their beaks at feeding time but remain completely silent.

Like most newborns they sleep a lot. Both the Mama and the Daddy fly back and forth and keep watch over them. I’ve been surprised at how often the male is the one bringing food to them while it’s still the female that nests with them.

Slowly but surely we are beginning to see features emerge and eyes stay open for a bit.

The other morning Sarah was brushing her hair at the hall mirror (don’t ask me why but for some reason all of my girls choose to fix their hair in some room other than the bathrooms with their five foot long wall mirrors…they just do.) Anyway, Sarah was in the hall and asked, “Who is making that noise?”

Turns out the babies have found their voices and can make a bit of a racket when it’s breakfast time. I probably won’t get any pictures of that since the parents are pretty quick to fly away if we get too close.

They’re not awake for long before they settle back down to sleep all squished up together.

I have so enjoyed the process but I’ll be honest, I’m waiting on the cuteness factor to hit overdrive because right now their prehistoric looking selves are starting to be overshadowed by the lack of cleanliness. Of course I say that but their song is awfully sweet so I’m trying not to think about or pay attention to the mess the nest, my wreath, and my front door is becoming.

The babies should begin to explore their surroundings within the next week and fledge (develop wings suitable for flying) within the next two weeks as far as I can tell from what I’ve read.

It’s estimated that there are anywhere from 267 million to over one billion house finches across North America and if your place is hospitable enough as many as 50 of them will congregate at any given time. Not sure I could handle that many hanging out in my front yard but this little family is welcome to stay around.

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