Purple Finch
Haemorhous purpureus
Maya Angelou -
“A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song!”
Bored, having a desire to do some photography but feeling too lazy to put in the effort to drive, find a subject and a location, along with lugging around a tripod and gear, I opted for creating my own subject matter in my backyard. Having just bought some more birdseed and a couple of hanging feeders I headed to my backyard. I set up my camera on a tripod with remote wifi enabled and then arranged the feeders. Having set the snare I went back inside pulling the sliding glass door shut, sat down on the couch with my laptop, and waited.
It wasn't long until the first of the raiders showed up to start nibbling away at the tasty feast that had seemingly appeared from nowhere. The will be no scratching around in the dirt looking for food today. The first of the arrivals was a female Purple Finch. They are less colorful than the males of the species having dull grey to light brown feathering.
In the winter months, they will feast primarily on seeds until the spring and summer rolls around and then they will eat mostly insects until late fall. They can be a gardener's friend unless you have berries, then they can quickly become a nuisance and wear out their welcome! I myself have been their victim when they raided my fig tree.
Purple Finches, as with most finches, are ground dwellers. When it comes time to nest the female will find a low-lying bush or shrub that is thick. Here in the Sonoran desert I have even seen them nest in the middle of a prickly pear cactus (now that's protection). Then they will construct a cup-like nest and lay anywhere from 3-6 pale greenish-blue eggs speckled with black and brown spots. 12-14 days later they will hatch and the young will stay in the nest for another 2 weeks. They will have one brood a year in most cases.
Having a good tripod and a camera that is wifi capable (I use a Canon 6D MkII for most of my photos) really helps to capture some great shots and keeps from scaring these guys away. They are super skittish and the moment I open the sliding glass door to the backyard the whole bunch will fly away. Also, I can pull up photos right away on my laptop and verify the focus and quality of each and immediately delete any unwanted photos.
It doesn't take long once you put out a feeder for the word to get around! After about 30 minutes I had more than just finches skittering around. The Mourning Dove in the picture above caused quite a stir when it arrived and a short skirmish between the two species ensued. It was soon clear that no amount of harassment from the little finches was going to run this towering giant off and they quickly returned to feeding.
When you are small and defenseless situational awareness is crucial. These guys never let their guard down, you never know when the neighborhood cat is going to show up or worse a hawk or an owl!
Well that concludes today's post on the Purple Finch. If you would like to learn more about these little wonders or other feathered friends you can do so at the The Audubon Field Guide to North American Birds. They also have an iPhone and android app available that is super cool and can be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play respectively.
I truly hope you enjoyed the post. If you'd like to leave a comment that would be great, I love interacting with my fellow HIVErs! You can find out more about myself and my passions for nature, wildlife, travel, and food 