Cam Taken Down

Greetings all!

I wish I had more time to talk about these wonderful birds, but alas I have been in the field for the last five weeks or so.

We had a very successful nesting season with the finch's fledging two clutches. I have now taken down the cam and we will collect the eggs that did not hatch.

Thank you for all your interest in this project and I  hope that next year that the birds will nest again in the same location so that I can set the cam up again.

Wing Goodale

BioDiversity Research Institute

Finch's Preparing Nest for Second Clutch

I am just out of the field and back for a couple of moments and was excited to see that the finches are reworking the nest for another round. This is exciting and we will be able to watch the nest building, egg laying, and then hopefully another group of chicks being raised. 

I am out straight at this point conducting research so I haven't been able to post as often as I would like,  but I will keep tabs on this nest and look for your great reports.

Wing Goodale

BioDiversity Research Institute

Refreshing Still Image: Java

Ward thank you for figuring out the problem. I have looked into it further and this is what I found. The version of Java 6 is the problem, 5 is OK. You will need some version of Java for it to work. What I just did at work was within a windows environment, I went to my control panel, and then add remove programs. I have a number of versions of Java on the computer including 5 and 6. I removed 6 and it is working perfectly now.

Hopefully this will help you out.

You may have noticed the camera  angle has changed a little. In the next day or so I will quickly reach in and adjust the angle back up. 

Wing Goodale

BioDiversity Research Institute

Students Please Comment

I believe that there may be some school groups that are watching this cam. Please write in with observations, comments or questions. We can learn a lot from these birds that live right around our homes. For example I learned for the first time watching this camera that the male comes in and feeds the female who then turns around and feeds the chicks.

Camera like this provide a unique insight into bird behavior.

Viewers may interested to note that in the front of our house another pair of finches is working on a nest and we currently have two young doves recently out of their nest sitting together under a tree in our front yard.

I am just finishing up some work and hopefully will post some more information about these finches soon.

Thank you for watching.

Wing Goodale

BioDiversity Research Institute

The Finch's Home

I thought it might be interesting for you to see the context of where the nest is. The photo below is the propane tank where the nest is. The nested right in the top of the tank and actually is a really good spot for them--well protected from the weather and predators.

I wish I could get the video working because it is amazing to watch them feed the chicks.

Something that we may have to look forward to is that the birds will nest multiple times in a season. So we may see them raise these young and then lay another set of eggs.

Wing Goodale

BioDiversity Research Institute

Some Photos from this morning

First Chick Hatches

We just got the cam up in time. The first chick hatched this morning.  This means that the female initially laid eggs about 14 days ago. All five eggs will hatch over the next two days or so. As you probably have seen the female does all the incubation, but the male will bring her food throughout the day. However once the chicks hatch both parents will feed the young.

There is a lot more to talk about with these birds, including a disease that is working through the eastern population, how the male's purple plumage is affected by his diet, and how these birds have expanded their range over the years.

I am also on my way to get live streaming. At the moment the image should refresh every 10-15 seconds. I have noticed that it doesn't refresh on my work computer and it may have to do with my version of Java--if your  image isn't refreshing you may want to try downloading the latest version of Java.

Wing Goodale

BioDiversity Research Institute

Welcome to the House Finch Blog

Well in an effort to have a nesting birds for you, I have placed a camera on a house finch that is nesting at my house on top of a propane tank. This pair has started nesting within the last week and have five beautiful blue eggs with black spots. Unlike eagles, the finches lay eggs and raise their young all within a month, so watch closely.

At the moment this camera only has a refreshing still image but I am working on getting video as well. Stay tuned and let me know what you see!

I will provide you with more information on the finch's natural history within a couple of days.

Wing Goodale

BioDiversity Research Institute