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Yesterday we saw a House Finch flying erratically around the bird feeder, up and down, left and right. It turned out that it was a fledgling trying to land on the feeder perch. His mother was coaching.
Female House Finch coaching fledgling.
House Finch fledgling trying to land on bird feeder perch.
House Finch fledgling resting on deck railing after an unsuccessful attempt. Note the muddy colored, immature eyes.
Update: looking as closely as possible, I think this young House Finch only has one eye! It may not survive for long, and has been continuing to fly erratically. I will keep the bird feeder stocked up to help him, but its long-term propects do not look good.
Nice batch, could be Conjunctivitis, http://feederwatch.org/learn/house-finch-eye-disease/
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Thank you for the link, John! It’s a b ad situation. Since we have so many House Finches come to our feeder, I may take it away for a few days, or even a week. In fact I just took it down now.
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I’ve done that before and it help, a good cleaning of the feeders may help too. I’ve seen hawks take House Finches right from my feeders when they are like that.
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Landing seems to be trickier than taking off 🙂 Great captures!
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Thanks Tiny. As you can see from the above comment by RV John, that young House Finch had an eye problem.
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Birds amaze me with their ability to fly through dense vegetation, like any skill, it is one that has to be learned. Thanks for sharing one bird’s lesson for the day!
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They also learn fast, so probably by next week there won’t be any need for flying lessons any longer.
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I have been following you for a while, always excellent shots and beautiful scens. You are a big inspiration source for me. Thanks for sharing
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Thank you Mohammad for visiting this blog, and for your kind comments.
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Such a wonderful and tender story behind your successful shots Hien!Birding is always exciting,you get some unexpectedly incredible scenes 🙂
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Thanks Doda. Many things happen around the bird feeder, especially in the Spring when young birds make an appearance, so awkward and innocent.
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It’s thrilling to watch their first “steps” and flights 🙂
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Your photos are so amazing.
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Thank you Lois!
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