Gold Finch Good-bye

About 10 days before the autumnal equinox, my black thistle socks were ravaged by tens of gold finch.  The males were very aggressive about feeding at the socks.  Two males would fight at the sock and continue to fight mid-air for ten seconds or so.  Both of my socks were totally destroyed when the finches made holes in the fabric large enough into which their heads could fit.  Of course, the seeds spilled onto the ground to a level just below the hole in the sock and gold finch will not eat the seeds off the ground.

That is black thistle seed on the concrete

I decided to make a new sock.  I searched my house for some kind of material.  I didn't have the knit fabric used in the store bought socks.  The kind of material used in sport clothing.  I'm not nor ever have been, what you would call, athletic.  

Fabricline.com

In my garage what I found was window screening material that I thought had openings large enough through which the seeds would fit.  I found some thick thread in the sowing basket and proceeded to make the sock.

10" x 24"

I didn't measure the screen but cut about 10" of material from the roll of 48" wide screening.  I then cut that into approximately two pieces 10" by 24".  

10" x 24" doubled now 5" x 24"

I folded the width so that I had two 5" wide layers and only two sides to sow.  I threaded the needle having the largest hole and began to sew the short end closed.  I put the needle in the fourth set of holes from the cut edge.  I figured that the fourth set of holes would be far enough from the edge to reduce the chance of the seam ripping apart due to the weight of the seeds.  This size sock would probably hold 2 lbs. of seed when full.  I consciously used strong knots at the end of each run of thread.  I then turned the sock inside out.  In no time at all, the sock was ready to fill with black thistle seeds.


I used a funnel with a large throat to fill the sock and tapped the sock on my kitchen counter to get in the maximum amount of seed.  I then cut a 10" length of 1/8" cord.  I used an overhand knot in the loose ends and formed a circular cord.  I then gathered and twisted the top of the sock made from the screening material.  Placed the circular cord around the gathered and twisted sock and slipped the doubled cord into itself and pulled the longer end of the cord, tightening it around the sock.


Now it was time to test the finches ability to get the seeds out through the screening.  I hung my new feeder next to one of the store bought sock feeders.  I figured by placing the new feeder next to the old feeder it would shorten the discovery time for the gold finch.

I built it, now they would come.  By the end of the second day, only one female gold finch was feeding at the new sock.  She was able to extract seeds.  My creation was a success, sort of.  

The one an only female gold finch I saw feeding had ripped the screening material to get to the seeds.  Oh, well!  Back to the drawing board.

I will bring my new sorry feeder inside, pour all of the seeds into a sealable plastic bag and store them until next spring when the gold finches return.  Until then, I am thinking about the overwintering birds in my backyard.

©Damyon T. Verbo - all rights reserved

Robin's Nest Near My Window 4

The Birth Head Feathers taken 1July2011

Late this evening, 3July2011, I arrived home after a day away at a family function.  I entered the front door and went directly to the breakfast room window to check up on the robins.  There was one of the chicks standing in the nest looking around.  It seems to had lost almost all of its birth feathers.  I went about the kitchen getting food out to make dinner.

After placing several pots on the stove, I returned to the window.  I had not seen either of the two parents since my arrival and neither was in sight and now two chicks were standing in the nest.  The boldest of the two seemed to be looking directly into my eyes telling me it was not afraid.  Within seconds of my arrival to the window this second time, the boldest chick turned and flew off to my left, chirping as it flew.  The actions of the boldest chick combined with its chirping stimulated the other standing chick to follow.  Neither of the chicks seemed to fly well, since it was their first try. I thought they landed some 15 feet into my yard.  The last chick, which was often hidden and still had most of those birth feather arising atop its head, stayed behind.  I think this meek chick may be a bit immature, perhaps hatching days after the others.

It was twilight before my curiosity got me out in to my yard to look for the robins that flew the coop, as it were.  The light was fast disappearing.  I walked to where I thought they would have landed and began to look around.  I didn't search amongst the plants in the garden but looked on the grass and concrete patio areas.  No sight of the chicks and they weren't making any sounds either.  My biggest fear is that they won't survive.  They didn't get any flight lessons but did they need lessons on feeding themselves?  Do the parents teach them to search out worms and insects or is that as instinctual as flying?  I will look for them again in the morning.

The Boldest Chick taken 16:50 3July2011

Robin's Nest Near My Window 3

I finally started to photograph the robin nest outside my breakfast room window.  There are definitely two robins feeding the chicks.  I believe one is a male, for it has a darker hood and it allows me to get closer before flying away.  The two birds bring mostly worms and I think I saw a bee or something that resembles a medium sized insect.

The three chicks are like asparagus, growing so quickly that if I had a microphone near the nest, I swear I would be able to hear them grow.  They are large enough to fill the nest and the female is unable to sit atop them, perching beside the nest at night.

The post atop which the robins built their nest is less than two feet from the wall of the house on the WNW side of the house.  Two Clematis that climb the fencing surrounding the post give the nest cover.  I believe this is one of the reasons the location was chosen by the robins.  The leaves from the Clematis also shade the nest from later day sun, only allowing some dappled light through to the nest.  This created a situation of poor lighting for photographic exposures.  I had to get out my kitchen scissors and do some pruning.

Female robin over nest internal point of view

Male Robin with bee external point of view

Male robin with worns interior point of view

Three robin chicks internal point of view

I am still thinking of adding a reflector to the house somehow to add even more light to the inner nest area.  A remote controlled battery powered led light suspended above the nest would be even better.  That will be a chore for this winter with installation before the arrival of the robins.

Robin's Nest Near My Window 2

The eggs have hatched.  The chicks are being fed worms constantly throughout the day.  As my luck would have it, my lens broke about 10 days ago and I have not been able to capture one image, since.  My new lens arrived Fri but I have been busy and still unable to photograph the robins.

I went outside this evening to grill some dinner and water the plants on the patio.  I also carried out my camera, just in case I got lucky.  The mother robin usually flies away as soon as it hears my sliding door open.  This time was no exception.  I placed the camera on a table and checked the weight of the potted plants to estimate their need for water.

I turned on the faucet for the garden hose and proceeded to water the hanging basket nearest my breakfast room window and within 2 feet of the robin's nest.  I could see little beaks upraised in the nest.  I was already too late to photograph the eggs in the nest.   One of the parents was approximately 10 ft behind me chirping loudly seeming to let me know I am too close to their nest and chicks.  The robins are not aggressive however, and only chirp loudly from a safe distance.


The parent robins will not approach the nest as long as I was within 20 ft and clearly visible.  I then pulled one of the chairs from the table and chair set within 7 feet of the post and decided to sit still and wait.  One of the parents returned with a worm dangling from its beak and perched on the horizontal support for the hanging basket attached to the same post on which the nest is built.  This may be an acceptable image but I hadn't the camera in my hands, the setting sun was hidden behind clouds and I wasn't ready to capture it.  I needed to move my position a bit for a better composition, besides.  I decided not to keep the chicks from their dinner.   I moved the chair before I returned to the house, so I wouldn't need to move it when I returned.

I hope to capture some acceptable images before the chicks fly away.