House Finches (outdoor)

[mstomcat65]

A few weeks ago we had a couple house finches build a nest in one of our outdoor hanging baskets on the front side of the apt... she laid 5 eggs and on the 17th they started hatching. All 5 hatched and looked healthy. I posted pics on my facebook of them at 5 days old... this morning NONE of the babies were in the nest or any evidence of anything that looked weird (plant was not destroyed etc.) What happened to the babies??? what could have happened to them... we are on third floor of an apt building in town. I am sad because everything was going so good for this pair :(

P.S. we have another hanging basket on the back side of our apt and she has 3 eggs in it so far... i'm hoping things go better for this pair of birds

[linda040899]

Sorry to hear about the finch babies! :( Being outside, predators are the first thing that comes to my mind. You said hanging plants. Are the plants on hanging stands or do they hang from hooks attached above? Plant stands are easy for predators to climb but there are ways to slow down or stop what could happen.

[mstomcat65]

the basket is hanging from a chain inside a covered balcony. i'm guessing it was another type of bird (small hawk?) that could be the predator.

[linda040899]

I think you may be right. Hawks don't normally land to take prey but other kinds of birds such as blackbirds, crows, etc can do something like this. Hopefully, the new nest will do better. Unfortunately, this is a fact of life even though we animal lovers see it as incredibly sad.

[mstomcat65]

will they come back to the nest or should I remove it....

thanks for your replies linda :)

[linda040899]

I'd leave it alone as long as it's not bothering anything. They may come back later on and use it again. Watching wild parent birds caring for their young is nothing short of amazing, successful or not.