Quick finch nest update

The house finch nest which has been a regular feature on my front porch for the last three years (or is it four?) has been productive this year again, with the second of the two broods almost ready to fledge.

These photos are from a week ago though when the chicks were much younger looking, because I already did a "we're about to fledge" post with the first brood.

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It's actually quite tricky getting photos of the chicks, as when they're too small you never see them, and then they're grown up -- there really is a period of about 4 days in which to see them in chick form. That's why I skip posting about it sometimes.

If you want to see all of the previous finch nest posts, here's the link to click to see them all.

Once you read those you may not want to see more of the poop-encrusted nest, but here are the most recent shots:

These guys had it much harder than the previous brood, as it was in the mid-90's for a week or so. You can see how hot they are, keeping their mouths open to help cool off -- even mom:

If that wasn't bad enough, when it cooled off a couple days later it really cooled off, and they experienced nighttime temperatures in the upper 40's for a few nights.

One extreme to another for these chicks!

Dad was a little nervous when I got the stepladder out to get a better shot of the youngsters:

But the chicks didn't seem to mind. They were quite happy to doze off and wait for mom or dad to return with their next meal.

It looks like the chicks are just about ready to leave the nest (in real life, not in these photos of course) so finch nest season is almost over for the year. It's a little sad...

They'll hang around for the rest of the summer though, entertaining me with their musical song, so no reason to be down.

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