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| House Finch |
Personally,
I like House Finches. Their songs are pleasant, they’re very comfortable around
humans, and can be very colorful. However, some people have large throngs of
House Finch visitors, and some more desirable species may get crowded out.
The
gregarious House Finches are terrible “clingers” so try this; Try removing the
perches from your tube feeders. Most tube feeders allow you to do this, and it
has minimal effect on clinging birds (such as Chickadees and Titmice) - who
usually just cling to the edge of the “port” (or opening) instead. There are a
few seed feeders on the market, such as a globe feeder, with no perches. These
can keep most House Finches from your seed for a while, but my advice to live
with them, and enjoy them.
Some
people confuse them with Cardinals, because the head and breast can be so red
on the males. This comes from pigment in their food. In fact the female selects
a mate depending on its redness, rightly assuming that a bright red male is a
better food finder and can feed youngsters better.
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| House Finch |
They
used to be found only in far west U.S. and in Mexico. But they’ve expanded to
cover the entire country. Believe it or not, the Great Plains (which includes north
Texas) has the least House Finches; though your neighbor who gets hundreds may
not concur.
Also,
House Finches are one of the few species that can feed seeds (like from a
feeder) to their young. So a House Finch at your feeder may be eating for two,
or three, or four or…
A non-stop flight that
wasn’t delayed
The record for non-stop bird migration has been set by a Bar-tailed Godwit (you won’t see one around here). The shorebird flew from New Zealand’s North Island to Yalu Jiang, at the northern end of China’s Yellow Sea, a distance of 6,200 miles, in nine days. There was no tailwind and no stopping (the route was mostly over water anyway). The numbers are precise since the Godwit was equipped with a satellite transmitter.
OWEN YOST, in addition to being a blogger, is
a licensed Landscape Architect emeritus who has lived and worked in north Texas
for over 30 years. He is a member of the American Society of Landscape
Architects (ASLA), International Federation of Landscape Architects, National
Wildlife Federation and the Audubon Society. His office is at Yost87@charter.net in Denton.
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