the first egg hatched!!!!

mama goldfinch shows off her eggs

Waiting and watching, as today is the twelfth day since the clutch of eggs was complete...any moment now, we should have hatchlings! We wrote haiku about our lesser goldfinch experience, and the kids dubbed them 'birdku' in honor of the book Dogku by Andrew Clements. Such fun!

One of the things I forgot to write about last week was how several of the students talked about the 'bird viewing platform' in our classroom being like going to the zoo or the aquarium (after all, the window is glass!). I pointed out to them that the difference was that we were the ones in the cage, not the birds, and they thought that was funny! I suppose it's like having our own magic school bus trip right in our portable...we could be the magic school portable!

I did find out through a little internet research that the reason these birds are called Lesser Goldfinches is that they are the smallest finches, not because they are less beautiful than any other birds!

Lesser Goldfinches: male feeding female on nest!

This afternoon marked 12 days since we first saw the goldfinches and their nest outside our classroom window! The bird books say the incubation period is 12 days, but I don't know if the first egg hatches after 12 days or if it's 12 days from when the clutch is complete. Today I snapped three pictures of the male feeding the female, and they're much clearer than the one I got before!

Last week we watched the female stand up in her nest and move the eggs around with her head several times, and the kids really enjoyed watching her and writing about it and all the feeding behaviors. It's so much fun to have our own viewing platform to observe nesting behavior from!

goldfinch sings good morning to me

As I was walking to my classroom this morning, this little male goldfinch was singing so loudly that I looked up and saw him. I had just enough time to stop and dig the camera out of my purse and snap a picture before he flew away. I guess he wanted some attention too, as I've been taking plenty of pictures of his partner and their nest! It was such a quick and lovely opportunity, and now a sweet thing to reflect on.

more miracles

By Friday morning the kids were thrilled that there were four eggs in the nest, and the students at our 'bird viewing platform' would squeal with delight when the male goldfinch would swoop down to the nest and gently feed thistle seeds to the female. Of course, in our classroom the kids keep calling them the mama bird and the daddy bird, it's hard not to! Any parent or teacher that comes in the classroom is treated to a tour of our 'bird viewing platform' and a detailed explanation of all of the bird behavior we've observed so far! The kids love it, and they recruit students at recess to come in for tours too!

Over the weekend it was very windy with a bit of rain, and several staff members worried over the little birds and their nest. One said she was thinking of trying to go hang something to protect it. I was worried about the wild cats that have litters under portables every spring, as the nest is very close to the ground...okay, I'm still worried about that. Several people have said I should put wire around the base of the tree to keep cats out, but it's a delicate balance trying to figure out how not to disturb the nesting birds.

Our Principal put locks on the gates on either end to try to protect the nest, but everyone has a key, and this morning one of the district maintenance guys went back there with a weed whacker and took down all the food source for the birds. I ran out to talk with him, asking him if we could skip the mowing for a month or so, and he said, don't worry, we only do it once a year, and we'll be spraying it tonight. I hope the spray doesn't hurt the birds or the nest, as I had no luck in stopping it. I figure I'll have to go buy some thistle seed and a feeder so that the pair stays well fed since the vegetation is gone.

I wanted to go to school to take more pictures yesterday, but I was afraid of finding a tragedy. I know it's the natural order of things, and lots of eggs and baby birds don't make it, but this is my miracle right now, and I really need it. I was thrilled to find them safe and sound this morning, and the kids were overjoyed when the mama bird returned to her nest after the weed whacker left. Then the daddy bird came and feed her while she kept the eggs warm. I might get to be a goldfinch gramma yet!