FINCH FOOD

Now that I have this new telephoto lens, I am obsessed with the birds, well make that MORE obsessed. It's a wonder I get anything done at all. This week the bird in the spotlight is the House Finch. They were introduced to Hawai'i in or before 1870. The colors range from pale straw yellow through bright orange (both rare) to deep, intense red. Of course I am partial to the orange, but all are attractive.

Feale and male

  A females and two males.

 The little guy on the left is the friendliest of them all and comes right up to us, yet this is the only photo I have of him. We have named him Cheeky because of the small growth on his right cheek. We have found out that these finches suffer from a contagious bacterial infection that causes blindness and eventually death. We had noticed last week that the spot had grown and his eye appeared to be affected. He only faces us now with his left side as I think that is the only eye he can see out of. It's sad yes, but just part of nature.

This is actually a juvenile. They are very VERY chirpy.

This feeding station is right outside the window where my office chair is.

They tend to sit still as they shell seeds by crushing them with rapid bites as evidenced in this shot.

The little one in the center of the bowl in the lower right image is actually a juvenile.

It cracks me up when they stand tall like this. When they land on the rail and there is no seed in the bowl, they stretch their bodies up and look all around as if to say "Where's the seed"?