If you have a birdfeeder anywhere around your home, chances are you are quite familiar with one of its most prolific visitors. The house finch may not be one of the more colorful backyard bird visitors, but it does bring a cheerful song, lots of activity and regular nesting in urban shrubbery.
As I write this, some newly fledged house finches are gathered at my feeder, but instead of eating for themselves, they are flapping their wings, opening their beaks and demanding food from the adults.
Most likely they are the newest crop to emerge from a huge honeysuckle shrub next to my house. Judging from the in-and-out activity of house finches, I suspect there are several nests in there.
The house finch has adapted well to its human neighbors, often nesting in flowerpots, hanging planters, windowsills or garden shrubs.
Nests are an open cup of woven twigs where four to five eggs are deposited and hatching in about two weeks. Depending on habitat conditions, they can produce up to three broods each year.
Unlike many other seed feeders, house finches do not feed their hatchlings high protein sources such as insects. Instead they exclusively provide plant food for their youngsters.
This medium-sized finch is a native to western North America, but today it is found throughout the United States and Hawaii. It was introduced in New York in 1940 when illegal caged birds were released, and they adapted well, spreading west and now populating every state in the lower 48.
In 1870, the house finch was introduced in Oahu, and by 1901, populations had spread to every one of the Hawaiian Islands.
They measure about 5 inches in length with a wingspan of about 9 inches. Their sheer numbers are a good way to begin their identification, but look for a thick, conical beak, brown upper parts and streaked breast to confirm. The large beak is a confirmation they are seed eaters.
A flock of house finches is known as a development, and they can bring beautiful sounds of warbles and chirps to urban gardens. They have adapted well to humans, becoming one of the most common visitors to backyard seed feeders.
The population of house finches here and in most areas are year-round residents, but in a few colder areas of the country they do migrate with the arrival of winter. House finch populations have been estimated at more than 1 billion.
Adults have a long, square-tipped brown tail and are a brown or dull-brown color across the back with some shading into deep gray on the wing feathers. Breast and belly feathers may be streaked; the flanks usually are.
While the house finch is not as colorful as a hooded oriole, or as exotic as some of the migrating warblers passing through San Diego, it is a common resident bird that will make any garden more enjoyable, and backyard bird watching more fun.
Early last month, I installed a tiny camera in a small house wren nest box that has been used successfully since we put it up several years ago. Within a few days, there was some activity as twigs began to appear.
Soon the 4-by-4-inch floor of the nest box was covered in twigs and a tiny nest was in place. We were very excited.
On April 15 we had our first tiny wren egg, about the size of a small jellybean. Each night after that, we had another egg until the total was seven. You can imagine how exciting it was to watch this on our bedroom television.
On May 4 the first chick arrived. A bald, almost transparent lump that looked like a cross between Yoda and a Smurf. By 11 that same morning, we had five chicks, and the final two the next day.
Both parents are now actively feeding the new arrivals, and we have created a Facebook page with photos and videos of the nesting process. Visit Mt. Whoville Wren Nest to view this magnificent event.
Cowan is a freelance writer based in Escondido. Email him at BirdandErnie@gmail.com or follow him at erniesoutdoors.blogspot.com.