Lady Gouldian Finches, Banding Babies 6 Days Old

Bands on their tiny feet. Longest toe doesn't show up.
It is under them and what holds the bands on their leg.

Put bands on the two baby Gouldian finches this morning. Their feet are different than the Bourkes, but we managed. The inside toe is the longest, so band went over it first instead of last, as with a parakeet.



Feeding before banding.

These two are growing and cheeping. I'm still using the eye dropper to feed them since I've not been able to find other recommended devices...mostly because we live in a small community, and out of town at that. But, the little birds seem to have adapted to an eyedropper well and so have I. We don't spill as much as we used to. However, I still wipe their faces with a warm, wet tissue after each feeding. Exact Hand Feeding formula dries hard, so best not to let it stay on a bird if you can help it.



The larger of the two often flips over on his back, as he is
here on the left. The little "poopers" flip and squirm a lot.



Very full, but still begging. Typical behavior.



Have lowered the temperature in the brooder (i.e., also incubator) by moving a pencil farther under the lid to raise it slightly higher. Wondering when the little guys will open their eyes. Soon, I'd guess. Didn't pay attention when their parents raised the two broods ahead of them. Not sure why their mother continued to lay eggs and refused to sit on them this time, but raising finches from eggs has turned into quite an adventure. Smile.

After those homely pictures, here is something prettier. This was taken out the north window of our living room about 7:00 a.m. this morning. Fog in the valley below us. Much like the Smokey Mountains on the east coast, but on the opposite side of the country.



 

Had an insight as I fed these baby birds. Often they resemble squirmy little worms, and at better times, little frogs. As homely as they are, I continue to feed them believing someday they will be beautiful feathered creatures.

 

Perhaps that is how God views us. The distance between God and us is greater than between us and these baby birds, yet he cared enough to create us. Getting up in the middle of the night to turn birds' eggs, and later feed these little creatures isn't pleasant, but their worth lies in the future. Is that what God sees for us too? That someday we will also become beautiful creatures, worth His creation and sacrifice? Thank you, Lord, for my life and for the mystery of all infant lives, each gifted with miraculous potential. - Gail Husband Lewis

Peace & Blessings.