Expert: Roger Lederer - 4/27/2009

Question
QUESTION: We have house finches in our front door wreath. All five eggs hatched 7 days ago. Parents have been very responsible--leaving then returning to feed after only a few minutes. However, today I have not seen or heard either parent near the nest for about 5 hrs.  My husband mowed the lawn earlier...Could this be keeping the parents at bay?  The chicks are shaking (but it's hot here--85 degrees) and are constantly opening their mouths for food.  Is the parents' behavior normal?  Do you think they abandoned their babies?  We have never even opened the front door since the nest was built. And we are always careful about opening our rather loud, creaky windows near the door so we do not scare Mom away...  I am worried about the little ones.

ANSWER: Well, mowing the lawn probably did upset the parents, but they should return. I don't think they abandoned their nest; parent birds don't leave that easily. If it is 85 degrees and the chicks are 7 days old, they should be ok for several hours. Keep me posted. And thanks for your concern.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for your reply. Mom did return to feed them for a few minutes, but is now gone again. Maybe it is too hot for her to sit in the nest with them? You mentioned parents do not leave the nest that easily.  What COULD make them abandon their little guys? Asking so I don't unwittingly do something stupid! After these babies have fledged we were thinking of moving the wreath so we can use the door again. We would like to hang it not too far...under the same shelter of our front porch but about 6 ft. away actually on the house itself.  Do you think she would come back to lay another clutch using the same nest?  Thank you so much!

Answer
If it is that warm, she does not need to sit in the nest with them. After five days of age their body temperature is internally controlled and they only need sitting on during the evening or cool days. What could cause abandonment? Lots of things. Predators, constant disturbance by noise or something close to the nest (kids playing, loud radios, etc), extremely bad weather, etc. She may use the same nest to renest, although moving it would make that less likely. It's not just the nest but the location she likes. But you can try it and see what happens. If she doesn't like it she will build a nest elsewhere.