Wednesday, February 25, 2009

House Finch Sings for me-First Time!

I decided to take a walk this afternoon after my computer crashed at work again (they supposedly fixed it, but it is worse than before). Anyhow, while walking in the small park in downtown Worcester, I could hear the sound of a bird that almost sounded like a goldfinch, but a little different. I used my ears to guide me to the bird and this is what I saw.
One lone little male house finch having a party of his own on a crab apple tree. I was very close to him and I don't think he ever noticed me. In the picture above, he is eyeballing the crab apples above him to see if they look any better than the ones below.


He looks to his left to see if those are appealing.


Then he looks at the ones right below him to size up their appeal.


Unable to resist the temptation, he takes a bite.
The song was so cute, that I couldn't resist trying video for the first time. It came out all right, but is a little more challenging than I thought it would be. The video is 30 seconds long of which the last 4 seconds or so is a video of the ground. I forgot to shut my camera off when I took it away from the bird and hence the grass footage. HA! If you want to hear his song than play the video.



Very cool. I never knew the house finch had such a sweet song. I also never knew house finches were in our downtown area. Every week I am going to try and get outside during lunch to see if I can find another new species to add to my downtown bird list!

22 comments:

Diane said...

THAT'S BEAUTIFUL KALLEN!!!
Thank you soooo much! ! !

Larry said...

Nice job with the series of photos and video! Keep watching and listening to those House Finches.You are hearing one of there shorter songs. Many times they have a long complex song that they male sings from the top of a tree or post.

ShySongbird said...

Lovely photos Kallen and how clever of him to pose with fruit which matched his plumage so beautifully!!

Beth said...

I do enjoy your posts and the ones of your downtown Worcester experiences and Institute Park are nice for me. My oldest son graduated from WPI a couple of years ago--he lives in State College, Pennsylvania, now but I have good memories of visiting him at college and at the TKE house.

Anonymous said...

S/he is very sweet. The first shot is great, as well as those with the nice blue sky background!

Shelley said...

Fantastic photos Kallen! I loved seeing him examine the berries!!

Anonymous said...

Such a sweet song! Thanks for the pretty pics and the video. You should have seen my 2 cats when they heard the bird!!!

mo_inoh said...

The sound of a finch is always a good thing. Still to cold out here in Ohio to hear and birds. But spring is on the way

Kim said...

Glad you liked it Diane! It was a real treat for me too because I normally only see house sparrows over there.

Larry, I am so going over there at lunch tomorrow to see if he is back so I can hear the longer song. Thanks for the info, I didn't know that.

Shy, that's what I loved so much about the photos, he matches the berries. HA

Beth, that area of Worcester around Institute Park is so pretty. My mother lives right near there and it is so peaceful in that area considering its a city.

Cam, that blue sky was fantastic today. It's going to be even better tomorrow w/ 40 degree temps and sunny skies. Can't wait!

Shelley, isn't it the cutest thing. In the second pic you can see berries stuck to his beak. HA, he was really enjoying himself.

Mildred, LOL! My cats have been doing the same all night. They look at the video and try and get to the screen. It is so frustrating for them because they can't get the birds from the kitchen window or the computer monitor. Absolute torture for them, but fun for me. HA

Kim said...

Mo, I give it another week or so and it will be nice and warm in Ohio. We here in NE are just starting to see slightly warmer temps, but not warm enough for me of course. ;o). Hang in there, spring is on its way!

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Some of our birds are beginning to sing a little now--but I haven't seen or heard a House Finch before. Thanks so much for the video.. What a cutie!!!!
Hugs,
Betsy

Rich said...

Kalen, Great post! A bird singing and sunshine make me think spring is getting closer and closer. I am ready for it.

Kelly said...

...I think House Finches have a cheerful call also...they are happy little birds! Love the video and the catches with the crabapples!

Helen said...

I love to hear the finches sing. Such tender soft songs they sing.We once has a finch build in our camper window under an awning. Every time she laid an egg after she came off her nest such a pretty song she would sing. Great pictures. Looked like he was glad to find something to eat. Helen

Anonymous said...

Great video, it's lovely to be able to hear the birdsong.

Paul.

Jayne said...

Great job with the video Kallen. :c) It's good to hear the finches singing again! Spring is on the way!

Ruth said...

The House Finches have been singing like crazy around here on sunny days. It sounds like spring to me. Like Larry said, they have a longer, more complex song too that is amazing to hear. Great photos.

Anonymous said...

Hey, I had a pair of House finches yesterday, too! It was red day at my feeder - a male cardinal, the finch, and a male Red-bellied Woodpecker! Love the YT video you posted. Made my cats sit up and take notice when I played it!

Dawn Fine said...

HOwdee Kallen.
Lovely photos...nice to see your city birds..
Love the addition of Video.

Anonymous said...

I love the little finch and the video clip. They do have a pretty song...

NW Nature Nut said...

The video was fun! Thanks for doing that. I love to hear the singing birds. Spring is on the way!

Leedra said...

What an uplifting event. And you captured him too!

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