Day 25 — Brooding and feeding visits

Brooding remains central today, with the female closely attending to the four nestlings. The day began with activity at 00:01 and concluded at 23:58, with the busiest hour for motion occurring at 21:00.

Sadly, a nestling was lost today, worked out of the cup and ejected from the nest around 09:09 PT, reducing the brood to four. Despite this, feeding visits continued, with observations at 06:56, 09:15, and 09:16, among others, suggesting both adults are provisioning the remaining nestlings.

Why this happens — and why we don’t intervene

Nestling loss is an ordinary, if hard, part of a wild brood’s first weeks. A chick may fail to thrive, lose out at feeding to stronger siblings, sicken, or simply be worked out of the cup in the constant jostling of a crowded nest; parent finches will also carry off a chick that has already died, as nest hygiene. From the footage we can’t know which it was here, and it would be a mistake to guess.

We also don’t step in — and shouldn’t. No one is at the house to intervene, and that is the right outcome regardless: House Finches are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and handling or disturbing an active nest, its eggs, or its young is illegal without a federal permit. These cameras are here to witness the cycle honestly, not to change it.

Highlight of the day

At 09:15 PT, two adult House Finches are observed attending a nest containing multiple nestlings and at least one unhatched egg within a white, curved structure.

From the overhead camera

Top-down view from the Tapo C110 looking straight down into the cup.

00:01 PT — overhead: chicks in the cup

00:02 PT — overhead: chicks in the cup

00:03 PT — overhead: chicks in the cup

The brood

00:01 PT — chick visible

00:02 PT — chick visible

00:03 PT — chick visible

00:04 PT — chick visible

Day 25 by the numbers

• Motion clips: 522
• With birds in frame: 442
• Both adults in frame: 8
• Brood: 4 of 5 nestlings surviving (one lost Jun 22)
• Bird-free frames: 80
• Peak hour: 00:00
• First to last activity: 00:01 → 23:58 PT
• Weather: high 24°C, low 12.2°C, 14h 47m daylight, wind to 18.6 km/h, no precipitation

Watching for tomorrow: the crossover toward heavier provisioning around days 7-9 post-hatch.