Birdies on the Porch

I first noticed the birdies on our porch sometime in the second week of March. Each morning as I was preparing breakfast and setting out the early morning coffee and tea I would hear the sweetest bird song, and it seemed so very close. I looked out the dining room windows in the direction of the singing and saw two small birds hopping stem to stem on our evergreen Christmas wreath that was still hanging between the two windows nearest our front door. I moved over to the foyer to look out the windows on either side of our door, where I could get a better look at the birds.

They come every morning, still, and play, no longer on the wreath, but now in the silk flower arrangement that hangs in its place. As I think about it, I've noticed little brown birds coming to that arrangement every Spring, but never as often or as consistently as this year. My first guess was that they were taking pine needles to use for their nest. But that can't be the attraction now. Now they're coming to play in silk and wire and plastic stem.

One of the birds has red feathers as well as greyish brown. At first I thought it could be a female cardinal, but then noticed that it's shape was not that of a cardinal. Also, the companion was brown and speckled. That must be the female, I thought, so the redish one must be the male. My birding knowledge is next to none. If it's not a robin, crow, cardinal, yellow finch or blue jay I don't know what it is. But my frequent feathered visitors now had me very curious.

Just this last week two pairs were coming each morning and just as one of our frequent business guests was enjoying her breakfast. "Look," I said, pointing to the window, "my morning visitors are here." We both watched, fascinated that they would come to this hanging arrangement between the windows on the porch. We could enjoy watching them and listening to them, from just a few feet away. No binoculars necessary. Before the morning was over she drove to the Audubon Shop just down the street and returned with a Peterson Field Guide of Eastern and Central North American Birds. Jerry at the shop had identified our feathered friends. They are House Finches. How nice that they have come again.