I've been watching this House Finch off and on all day. I first noticed it huddled on the edge of the wooden feeder, just sitting in the rain looking lost. It tucked its head under its wing and just sat there looking tired. I thought the feathers looked sort of downy, like it might be a young bird that wasn't really ready to go it alone yet. I did see it eat a seed. It was distinctive because of the orange area above the tail.
Later I saw it on the garage roof! Again just sitting and once in a while it would lean over and put its head on the shingles!
Later it showed up in the tree and acted like it couldn't figure out how to land on the feeder it was trying to get to, so it perched on the suet feeder instead and just seemed to breathe heavily and then puffed itself up into the fattest little ball of feathers I've ever seen!
There it sat, until the Red-Bellied woodpecker showed up. Mr. Woodpecker wanted the suet and snuck up behind it and when it didn't move he reached out and "goosed" the little bird until it moved over to another branch. Sort of funny!
There it sat, until the Red-Bellied woodpecker showed up. Mr. Woodpecker wanted the suet and snuck up behind it and when it didn't move he reached out and "goosed" the little bird until it moved over to another branch. Sort of funny!
The only other place I saw it was on the water dish.
Very strange little bird. Especially on the roof.
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12 comments:
and a very cute little bird :D Hope he is just in a strange mood and not sick.
Mosefruen: I think the roof behavior concerned me the most.
Have you seen him today? I hope he's alright.
I, too am a bird lover. Have 6 feeders going right now. Tho the hummingbird one has yet to see action. Maybe they haven't migrated through my nice of the wood yet.
Wonderful pictures!
Mary, I know you said it was raining, but things look fairly dry in your pictures. If it was warm, the bird may have been sunning itself on the roof to get warm. I've had a steady stream of birds lying on their sides in the leaves this week. The first time I saw it, I thought I had a sick or dead bird, but since then, I have watched bird after bird this week, nestle down into the leaves, puff themselves up, lie on their side, spread a wing or tail, and stay there until they turn and warm the other side. It's strange and interesting behavior. I plan to put up a post about it soon. Maybe you'll recognize the behavior.
Well it sure is a sweet looking bird. I have seen my finches with the same behavior...might have been what SP said...enjoyed the photos!
sandy
Tsannie: just got home from church and haven't done any bird watching yet,but will keep my eyes open for him to come back today. Thanks for stopping by! I checked out your blog a few minutes ago and will be back.
Sandpiper: It had stopped raining when it was on the roof, so maybe you are right. The fact that it ate and drank seemed to indicate it was OK.
Sandy: Well, I hope you are both right! It looked young to me and I wondered if that was why it acted bewildered. I have several House finches with eye problems, so that was why I thought it might be sick.
Unsure about the bird in the first few shots, its not looking too good though, the bird tucking its head behind its wing on your feeder isn't normally a good sign, hopefully I am wrong, if its a regular visitor keep us posted. Mike.
Mike: That is the same bird in all the shots....the feeder shots were early in the day, then the roof and finally the puffed up pictures. I haven't seen it yet today, but we were busy outside and the birds are waiting for us to go away from the feeders.
Mary, notice how clear the eye is in the picture? When a bird doesn't feel well, you can usually see its nictitating membrane. I don't see that in your picture of the bird on the roof. Have you seen the bird today?
Sandpiper: I'm not sure. This bird looked so different each time I saw it yesterday....except for those orange feathers between the wings. I thought I would know it if I saw it again. I had one out there earlier that might have been it and it was eating at the feeder. I think that I'll just tell myself that it is perfectly fine and was just having a "bad day" yesterday in the rain and gloom. If it was trying to warm up by laying on the roof and puffing itself up, then maybe that is all that was wrong with it. It was just strange behavior for me to witness. Maybe the earthquakes were affecting it....apparently there have been more little ones that I can't feel, but animals are more sensitive.
That's true, Mary. I hope your bird is okay and I'm guessing that it is. I've been taking pictures of my birds sunbathing this week. I plan to post them in a couple of days. Maybe when you see them, you'll feel better. When I first saw it, I thought the birds were sick or dead, but the crazy little things were really sunbathing. I've never seen it before. I have found out that there is also something called "anting." You could try searching Google for "anting and sunbathing". It's quite interesting.
I'll be looking forward to your sunbathing bird pics and I did read the "anting" information....weird! We are having an ant invasion right now, so my birds should find plenty if they need them.
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