Toadlet & Baby Finch Update

I'll start with the toadpoles.

I got a few good pictures this morning of them and one movie. Not all that much movement yet but a few are cruising around like they know what they're doing.

It was just 9 days ago the Woodhouse's Toad laid their eggs... no algae growing under Mother Nature, wish I could say the same for my pond.

It's interesting that with all these creatures growing in the pond, once they mature and move out of the pond, they just seem to disappear.  Of course some are consumed... I understand goldfish eat them although I've not witnessed this.  Many other creatures you might think of as predators don't eat these little guys because they are reputed to taste bad.  I don't know if that finding was by someone eating them or by observing some would be predator trying one for a snack and spit'n it out. I still am left with the mystery of where do they go.

In the House Finch arena their fast moving story continues. The count is still 3 but I'm not sure for how long. This morning I saw the oldest chick standing on it's siblings and flapping it's wings like it was time to fledge. It didn't leave the nest but I'm thinking it will be soon. The others will be a day or so behind it.

They are pretty active, not sleeping near as much as they used to. I'm thinking their new feathers are a bit itchy as there is frequent preening, scratching and moving about. One even found a bug on one of the leaves around the nest and ate it.

A word about poop. The inside of the nest doesn't appear to have any poop but the outside of the nest is fertilizer nirvana. I can't imagine what it would be like if there were 7 chicks in the nest. Heck, 7 chicks wouldn't fit in the nest... how do they do that trick?  Anyway, creatures and especially birds aren't as grossed out about poop as many of the human order seem to be. Ya just have to look past that... consider it bad birdy art maybe.  Since the poop is all around the nest I can't keep it out of the pictures.

No feather shafts visable on the oldest chick which you see at the top of the chick-pile.  Has that hair-do kinda like
Friar Tuck of Robin Hood.

It would certainly be exciting if I were to get pictures of one of the chicks leaving the nest. Maybe they will be like the eagles I watch and start climbing around the trellis and honeysuckle before actually taking the first flight.

Whoohoo!!!