# Finches have nested in my hanging plant (with pics!) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 9, 2009, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finches-have-nested-in-my-hanging-plant-with-pics/495855 "2009-05-09T16:22:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finches-have-nested-in-my-hanging-plant-with-pics/495855/1 "2009-05-09T16:22:08Z")
Ever since I put up some alyssum in a hanging planter, the local finches have been attacking it and eating it. Then, last week, I noticed a pair of finches were actually rustling around inside the pot. I took the pot off its hook and found [this!](http://www.flickr.com/photos/32527822@N04/sets/72157617820194495/) Well, I guess there goes that plant, since I obviously can’t water it anymore. Mama and Daddy finch watched in consternation from the neighbor’s roof as I took photos of their eggs. Mama finch is super cute sitting inside the pot with just her head sticking above the flowers. Unfortunately, I can’t get a picture of this since she flies off when I open the door. Stay tuned for finch babies, I hope! ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finches-have-nested-in-my-hanging-plant-with-pics/495855/2 "2009-05-09T16:33:05Z")
Cute! It rains in nature, so maybe you could just water it a little around the sides without pouring water right into the nest? I think it’s only a month before the babies leave the nest. Get more hanging plants ready now! ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finches-have-nested-in-my-hanging-plant-with-pics/495855/3 "2009-05-09T17:18:07Z")
I’m going to send a link to this thread to my sister. We’re both in the Audobon Society. thanks for posting! ---
**Author:** ![longPath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bb73d2/32.png) [@longPath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/longPath)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finches-have-nested-in-my-hanging-plant-with-pics/495855/4 "2009-05-09T23:09:07Z")
What kind of finches, please? ---
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finches-have-nested-in-my-hanging-plant-with-pics/495855/5 "2009-05-09T23:49:38Z")
What kind of finches? Um…cute ones? Okay, using [www.whatbird.com](http://www.whatbird.com), I have identified them as [house finches](http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/105/overview/House_Finch.aspx). (Thank goodness they weren’t sparrows or something, I would have had to turn in my Girl Scout badges for being so bad at bird identification.) Fun fact: a group of house finches is known as a “development.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![longPath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bb73d2/32.png) [@longPath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/longPath)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2009, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finches-have-nested-in-my-hanging-plant-with-pics/495855/6 "2009-05-10T10:28:45Z")
That’s really cool, Pyper! I have never seen a house finch. They are considered rare here in Nova Scotia. Good luck with the eggs. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finches-have-nested-in-my-hanging-plant-with-pics/495855/7 "2009-05-10T17:59:51Z")
Neat! We have an open air stairwell at [work](http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff114/Timur_photo/DSCF3677Large.jpg). Note the light fixture, which is on 24/7. On the top right hand corner is a [house finch nest](http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff114/Timur_photo/DSCF3675Large.jpg) ( sorry about the bad photo ). _On a perpetually on light fixture._ How mom gets any sleep, I’ll never know :D. [House](http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff114/Timur_photo/DSCF1158Large.jpg) [Finches](http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff114/Timur_photo/DSCF1163Large.jpg) are [cute](http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff114/Timur_photo/DSCF1164Large.jpg), [but not](http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff114/Timur_photo/DSCF1170Large.jpg), [I think](http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff114/Timur_photo/DSCF1179Large.jpg), [particularly](http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff114/Timur_photo/DSCF1184Large.jpg) [bright](http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff114/Timur_photo/DSCF1183Large.jpg) :). ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2009, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finches-have-nested-in-my-hanging-plant-with-pics/495855/8 "2009-05-11T00:39:45Z")
Cool. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finches-have-nested-in-my-hanging-plant-with-pics/495855/9 "2009-05-24T02:54:15Z")
Update! The [babies](http://www.flickr.com/photos/32527822@N04/3557701619/in/photostream/) have hatched! I noticed Daddy Finch was hopping around the planter excitedly this afternoon, so I went out to check. I found four, squirming, fuzzy, wormy, chicks! Aww, they’re so…well, cute isn’t quite the word for it… They’ve got long, floppy necks with scaly patches on either side and little mohawk stripes of feathers on their pink bodies. The cutest part is how they’re all snuggled together. No sign of eggshells, do the parents eat them? More updates when they get cuter… ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finches-have-nested-in-my-hanging-plant-with-pics/495855/10 "2009-05-24T02:58:02Z")
Outstanding! I believe the parents dump the shells out of the nest. Check below. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![horsetech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dec6dc/32.png) [@horsetech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/horsetech)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finches-have-nested-in-my-hanging-plant-with-pics/495855/11 "2009-05-24T06:40:39Z")
Awwww! Squee! A fine substitute for kitten pictures. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2009, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finches-have-nested-in-my-hanging-plant-with-pics/495855/12 "2009-05-24T07:15:40Z")
Birds sure do like flowerpots! ---
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finches-have-nested-in-my-hanging-plant-with-pics/495855/13 "2009-06-06T02:46:54Z")
Finch update! They have finally reached cuteness stage! [Ugly](http://www.flickr.com/photos/32527822@N04/3599708090/in/photostream/) [Still pretty ugly](http://www.flickr.com/photos/32527822@N04/3598899053/in/photostream/), but developing some wingage. [Cute!](http://www.flickr.com/photos/32527822@N04/3599708224/in/photostream/) [Cute](http://www.flickr.com/photos/32527822@N04/3598899207/in/photostream/), and highly indignant about having his picture taken. Now that they have their eyes open, they freeze whenever I peer inside the nest. I’ve stroked them gently, and they don’t seem to mind. They are pretty disgusting, you can see in the pictures a ring of poop all around the nest. ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finches-have-nested-in-my-hanging-plant-with-pics/495855/14 "2009-06-06T03:36:53Z")
Are there three chicks? Weren’t there just two eggs? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finches-have-nested-in-my-hanging-plant-with-pics/495855/15 "2009-06-06T03:55:35Z")
If they keep laying eggs there, you’ll soon start to think of the ugly stage as cute. Shit. Yes, tell me about it. Easy to see where the expression “fouling your own nest” comes from. Cute little buggers. ---
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finches-have-nested-in-my-hanging-plant-with-pics/495855/16 "2009-06-06T03:57:30Z")
> [@C3](#): > > Are there three chicks? Weren’t there just two eggs? Oh, yeeeah. Actually, there were four eggs, but I didn’t post an update just for the extra two eggs. Now the four chicks are quite large and it’s starting to look pretty crowded in that nest. ---
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finches-have-nested-in-my-hanging-plant-with-pics/495855/17 "2009-06-08T18:32:18Z")
Update! My birdies are gone! ☹ There’s no sign of them this morning, I think they must have fledged while I wasn’t looking. They were getting very feathery and too big for their nest. I’m sad! My babies have grown up! ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finches-have-nested-in-my-hanging-plant-with-pics/495855/18 "2009-06-09T04:09:02Z")
Ah yes, the empty-nest syndrome. Keep things as is, and maybe the parents will lay more eggs. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finches-have-nested-in-my-hanging-plant-with-pics/495855/19 "2009-06-09T14:26:32Z")
Several times this Spring I was watering hanging baskets at night only to have a small bird explode from the foilage. That’ll sure get your heart going. I see the family around the yard and it’s been fun to watch the mom and dad all protective-like of the young 'uns. I wish I knew what they are but searches with the whatbird link yielded pictures unlike what we’ve got. They’re small like your Finch, only much more rust and brown. Cute little buggers though. I could watch them flittering around for hours. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finches-have-nested-in-my-hanging-plant-with-pics/495855/20 "2009-06-09T14:32:03Z")
Found 'em… [Carolina Wrens](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3603/3484825711_86a280cd32.jpg).