FINCH-FLEDGLING FLOPHOUSE FINISHED!
The last of the mini-Mohicans, so to speak.
This pic was taken on the 17th, and I took some video of the little fledgling flapping its wings and going back and forth from one side of the nest to the other, but in spite of its Dad offering encouragement from nearby, the wee bird remained in the nest so I was unable to capture its first flight that day.
The next day it was gone.
We removed the nests, lest another clutch of eggs be laid, and we finally have full access to our house again from the front — we'd become so used to using the backdoor, I still forget sometimes to use the front.
A week or so prior to the above Finch-pic, we travelled out to a National Park in the midst of a heat-wave but before we could go I had to chase a crow away from my car and rescue an injured Finch (*adult, not one of the wee ones).
We managed to get the itty-bitty bird out from under the Chrysler and put it in an evergreen where it could recuperate safely — then we hit the road.
Sasha spotted the first of many buffalo…
Bad pic, but hey, I was driving while taking the photo!
Picnic by a lake offered no respite from the heat, no cooling breeze off the lake, not even a RIPPLE!
Checked the nests when we got home, and everyone seemed okay. You can see the wings are no longer fluffy but feathered.
Imagine, from the above to the pic at the top of this missive in only one week!
Alas, the injured bird was found in our flower-garden a few days later.
Was it one of the Finch-moms defending her brood from the crow?
As far as we know, it was the only casualty in the raising of the fledglings.
On a more positive note, the next day we visited a conservatory. This one's for Dave:
Mammillaria spinosissima subsp.
pilcayensis
About a decimetre (4") tall, this particular specimen's flowers were
ultra-teeny.