Empty Nest

The last two fledgling House Finches flew off from the nest this morning.  One or two others had left a day or two ago, but we didn't think these two were quite ready to leave the nest yet.  Although the larger one appeared to have pretty good feathers and was stretching its wings, the smaller bird didn't really look quite ready.  http://plantagarden-itllgrowonyou.blogspot.com/2016/05/location-location-location.html

They both took off anyway when we stepped out onto the porch this morning to say goodbye to a friend who had been visiting.  The larger chick flew across the driveway into the neighbors' shrubbery, but the smaller one hadn't quite got that flying thing down yet and only flew as far as the driveway, where it sat looking a bit dazed for a few minutes.  Then it sort of hopped and flew under our rose bushes and then into the pomegranate container on our front porch.  Cindy later saw it fluttering off toward the neighbors on the other side.  Since the parent birds continue to protect and feed their chicks for a few days after they leave the nest, we're hoping that they will be able to reconnect with it and continue to feed it.

Last week one of the chicks fell out of the nest and landed in our driveway.  Since the chick at that point was still in the nestling stage, mostly covered with down and only a few true feathers, we followed the advice of the Audubon Society and the National Wildlife Federation, dragged the ladder out and returned the chick to the nest.  Because birds have a poor sense of smell, returning a nestling bird won't discourage the parents from continuing to feed it.

However, both organizations advise against returning a fledgling bird, with fully formed feathers, to the nest since they're just beginning to learn to fly at that stage and need to spend some time on the ground practicing their flying skills.

We're feeling bad that we accidentally scared the fledglings out of the nest today, but Project Wildlife says the parents will continue to search for their babies and even resume feeding them if they've been gone a day or two, so we'll continue to hope that all the chicks will be all right.

Now that they've gone, we'll be able sit on our front porch again.