Monday, September 13, 2010

Don't Flinch! It's Merely A Backyard Finch.



I fear I'll wear out my Birds of Wisconsin Field Guide in my quest to identify the birds in my backyard. After a flurry of page flipping, I matched my own photos taken over the weekend with these photos from my field guide.














This photo captured both the female and the male House Finch. I feel lucky to have both in one shot.






Staring directly at each other, neither Mrs. Finch nor I blinked or flinched.











Mrs. Finch caught with her wings all aflutter.


She gobbled feverishly right in front of me and never offered me so much as a single kernel. It becomes a free for all when six or seven birds are all hungry at the same time and find that seating at the feeder is limited. Their manners "go out the window" as aggressiveness brings out the worst in even the best of them.






I think Mrs. Finch looks much more refined without a beak full of seeds, don't you?










Mr. Finch prefers to wear red on his head and chest while his wife has chosen a more conservative shade of brown.





I suspect he's taking a few deep breaths before he dives headfirst into one of the feeding slots.








This male finch is willing to stretch and strain his neck in order to to fill his belly. But then, we go to great lengths as well when our stomachs start growling!










I wonder what birds do when they throw their necks out of alignment. I bet a kindly woodpecker provides therapeutic treatment via a precisely placed peck to the neck of the sufferer.


Aha. As I consider the finch, my brain has made a connection. Although insignificant, I'll mention it anyway. In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus, Scout and Jem "Finch" come to life. I've read this book and enjoyed the Finches many times but until today I didn't give thought to the presence of the name of a second bird in this story.

If you liked this post and want more, you can view a Black-capped Chickadee and a Downy Woodpecker in my two previous posts. If unimpressed with my chatter, well, have a nice day.

9 comments:

Linda McMann said...

You have put them enough at ease to capture their image. They look very content! We have finches at our feeder also, but they flee when I try to sneek up on them with a camera.

Cheryl Peters said...

PARROT: I take pictures from inside our house. For some reason, the reflection of the glass or the subdued indoor lighting makes my presence unthreatening.

Anonymous said...

HA! I love your title.

I wonder if I can talk my hubby into trading his motorcycle hobby for a bird house/feeder hobby?

I'm totally in love with your little feathered friends.

Cheryl Peters said...

DARKSCULPTURES: It's highly unlikely that bird watching, feeding and housing could win over a fan of shiny chrome and the reckless attitude of a mean motorcycle. And yet, don't let me discourage you.

I'd like to be the first to know if it should happen!!!!

Anonymous said...

OMG, I love these little sweeties! I wish I had a view like this. Chuck would go insane, but I'd love it.

These posts are just cool Shaddy :) Great idea!

Anonymous said...

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Owning a regular lawn mower does not mean you have to give up
on mulching your yard;
you just have to be willing to do some work. Grass clippings are full of nitrogen and break down quickly.

Anonymous said...

In contrast, the non-organic gardener is more likely to use chemically created fertilizers.

When you're preparing your planting area, just mix the soil with about three inches of organic compost. Without fertilizing additives (natural or chemical), plants will be stunted and unhealthy.

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