thanks for the cool pictures Mrs D. i love the corn cob holder ideas for birds. i love birds and am going to try this in my own back yard for my little bird friends too. thanks again!

Well, we have had a 2+ week lull on the fluff dispenser, and I almost took it down.

Then a female finch appeared after a heavy rain, and started in on it again. I decided to replace the rather battered fluff remaining with fresh, and I had 2 females arriving at it together today. The yellow male sometimes flies in and sits on a nearby branch guarding the female as she takes the cotton.

I don't know if the nest is done, and chicks fledged, or if she lost it in a storm or to a crow or squirrel and is making another. I don't even know if they have two broods, like robins do and hummers.

But in any event I still have my fluff dispenser to watch during the day and enjoy them.

Hi mrsD,

I enjoy your posts on your bird observations very much!
Fascinating!
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With Gratitude,
DejaVu

Last night we had a visit from the newly fledged Goldfinch chicks.
There were at least 3 of them hounding Mrs. Goldfinch for food.

She brought them to our tube feeder in front, at dusk... there was such a commotion. This lasted at least 2 hours. I don't know where they all get the energy to squawk so much!

Perhaps they got the message and learned how to use the feeder finally, since it has been quiet so far today. Hubby was pretty close and could see all the drama. (I was inside the window watching The Artful Detective.) 3 birds with flapping begging wing behaviors, and one lone female who was being mobbed with the endless peeping.

The first recording here, was similar to yesterday's calls:

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only multiply this by 3 at least and you get the idea of how loud it was!
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Can you get a pic of them?
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No not in that poor light. They flit about very fast too...very
hard to photograph. But hubby saw them as he was on the back screened porch near the feeder and yew bush they were in.
He said they looked just like the female... but were flapping their wings and begging her to feed them. No other way to tell who was who though as they were are identical to him (in the low light). Only the adult males are bright yellow and the juveniles and females are olive drab.

Could you try? I'd love to see them.

I know the baby sparrows look exactly like the partents just little, tiny balls of fluff. They are easy to pick out. They turn to the Mom , crouch down, and flutter their wings with their mouth open. So cute to watch.
.

Once the chicks get their pin feathers in and can fly they are no longer "fluffy"... their appearance changes rapidly.

We did have a newly fledged hummingbird sit at our feeder for about 2 hours day before yesterday... at dusk. This photo is when last rays of sun peeked thru the trees.

Short beak and short tail is a chick. We have them upNorth every summer. This one is very small too and I think is a little male.

He left when it became darker out. I think he was waiting for his mom to bring food. Hummers are raised on insects, not nectar.
But I could see this one taking a sip now and then from his chosen perch. I've seen the female fairly often, but these city birds don't come to the feeders as much as the Northern ones seem to do. I've seen the female in our yew trees, going for insects fairly often, so I kept the feeder up anyway.

Yes, I saw recently, on TV special, a bird that would catch an insect then smash them with their beaks to get rid of the heads then feed them to the babies. Something about the heads, maybe they are poisonous.

Hi mrsD,

Lol! The goldfinch family had to be fascinating!
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Noisy, too!
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Thanks for sharing your/your husband's observations and the sounds of the birds. I enjoy this thread immensely.

The picture of the hummingbird on the feeder is also fascinating!
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I am lucky to have birds singing morning and evening here.
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When I am elsewhere, I miss hearing/watching the birds so much!

Thanks again, mrsD, for sharing so much in this thread!

With Admiration and Gratitude,
DejaVu