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Friday, October 24, 2008 - (see all news for this day)
nest going well - 06:59 AM
(filed under 'animal')
i wondered for a little while if the finches didn't have it in them to be able to build a nest because, frankly, their initial efforts were a bit sad.
both hansel & gretel were trying to get on with the job, but hansel was being a big boofhead, charging in beside gretel, pushing her aside & just kind of throwing pieces of grass & yarn into the nest. she'd then grab them & throw them out again.
it seems they finally came to some sort of agreement, though, because the next is actually taking shape quite nicely now.
i helped them a bit, in the end. i put their nesting box back after they were trying in vain to build a nest over thin air in the corner, but they seemed to have their hearts set on that spot & just ignored the box, so i used some of the yarn smiley & i had cut up for them & threaded it through the bars across the corner to make a kind of 'web' base for the nest. they took it from there as soon as i'd finished & started piling up the nesting materials. well, hansel was piling them up; gretel was placing pieces carefully & threading the bits through other bits.
later in the day, after we'd been out & come back again, they had what actually looked like the basics of a nest, complete with kind of round shape. periodically, i've been collecting the bits of grass & paper from the outside of the cage, the bits that have fallen through as they've tried to place them, & put it back into the cage so they can keep building. smiley & i have collected more skinny weedy grass stuff for them, too.
last night they were both in there cuddled up together. it was really cute.
this morning, while i was still in bed, it seems they've been building up the sides of the nest & taking it higher so it goes above them a bit, too. i guess i'll pick some more grass for them today if they run out again.
it'll be cool to see how they go with the eggs. when hansel & gretel first arrived, gretel laid an egg in the first few days we had here, which ended up cracked on top of the nesting box. let's hope they have more luck this time.
it's been so interesting being able to watch them make the nest. i can't wait to see how the egg laying/sitting process goes. as much as they kind of smell & make such a mess, i now appreciate that they're inside & i've loved being able to watch this this latest thing happen. 
how interesting this all is! this has to be so exciting to watch. good deal on helping them out with threading the yarn through the cage to give them a "base" to build from!
make sure they have a good source of calcium so their egg shells are sturdy ...
We enjoy watching birds build their nests. We have House Finches who build nests all around our place (outside), and we have watched the eggs hatch and the babies grow up and learn to fly. The moms and dads work really hard at being good parents.
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you should've taken a time-line of pics. would have been real interesting then. you know, stage by stage.