Finches

It started when we moved into the new house. The previous owner had bird feeders hanging outside the kitchen window. They attracted small colorful birds, and unfortunately, squirrels. I filled the feeder with birdseed, and I’d catch the squirrel hanging upside down on top of the feeder helping himself to a free meal. I changed feeders, and I haven’t seen the squirrel since. But the birds kept coming, and I’ve become fascinated. I’ve learned that they are finches. Small birds the size of sparrows. They are of varying colors that you can only find in nature. Reds, yellows, orange, purple, and black decorate their fine feathers. I now find myself sitting at the kitchen table watching and marveling at these little creatures. I can’t say I ever paid much attention to birds, but seeing them up close, and supplying free meals has given me a whole new appreciation.

Charles Darwin found finches on the Galápagos Islands and wrote about them in his theory of evolution. I found out they are excellent singers. Females incubate about four or five eggs at a time, and males help raise the young. They are very popular pets. They are very social, but prefer the company of other finches instead of humans, so if you get one, you should really buy two so they can talk to each other, and ignore you.

They usually come in the morning for breakfast and early evening for dinner. I’m not sure they do lunch. They will come alone, or in groups of two or three. But one evening I counted ten on the feeder. They were chirping and cracking seeds. They would flutter above and around the feeder waiting for an open spot to sit and eat. Their bodies are only four inches long and they are a perfect combination of beauty and functionality. Their eyes and heads are constantly moving. They seem vigilant and on alert for any danger. If I get too close to the window to watch them, they can sense movement even through the closed window, and will fly away.

They embody a sense of freedom. Humans have always been fascinated with the ability to fly. It’s made us a mobile, global society, and helped us explore the Galaxy. The smallest single engine plane to the most sophisticated airliner, jet fighter, and rocket take the very best engineers and scientists to get them off the ground and back safely to earth. Besides Superman, none of us can do what birds do so naturally and gracefully. Their movements can’t be duplicated. Their quickness and change of direction is stunning. They can fly above the chaos on earth.

Man has always tried to unlock the secrets of the nature. Our good instincts have told us to preserve and protect land and animals from our own destructive forces. We try to save endangered species who were all here before we showed up. Sometimes when you get to observe nature up close and undistured, you gain a better appreciation for the importance and beauty we often take for granted or ignore. I look forward every morning and evening now to watch the colorful little finches outside my window, and wish I could fly.