Our Winter Guest

"Many birds come into view the more freely in the cold weather that they are driven forth in search of food.

The cattle mourn in corners where the fence screens them.

          The sun, with ruddy orb
     Ascending, fires the horizon.

          Every herb and every spiry blade
     Stretches a length of shadow o'er the field.

    "The sparrows peep, and quit the sheltering eaves.

     "The redbreast warbles still, but is content
     With slender notes, and more than half suppress'd;
     Pleased with his solitude, and flitting light
     From spray to spray, wheree'er he rests he shakes
     From many a twig the pendent drops of ice
     That tinkle in the wither'd leaves below.

There is no reason why the child's winter walk should not be as fertile in observations as the poet's; indeed, in one way, it is possible to see the more in winter, because the things to be seen do not crowd each other out." ~ Charlotte Mason Vol 1 pg 86

 A few nights ago we discovered this little guy fluttering around on our front porch...

It was after dark and though, at the time, he wasn't in the nest, I was able to make him stay still for quite a while by shining a flashlight on him. After we noted his color, bill shape, and size, we headed inside for our Birds of Texas Handbook to look him up. We discovered that he is a male House Finch. We have seen the females many times, but he is the first male we have had close enough contact with to identify. 

He has decided to reside in a nest on our front porch. It was built in the spring by a couple of swallows who abandoned it. (Probably due to a high level of human traffic through the front door a few feet from the nest.)

Our comings and goings don't seem to bother our winter boarder. We have had guests over observing him and taking pictures, children running and playing under his nest, and a cat watching him longingly. He observes all with a quite aloofness.

I believe our little House Finch has "come into view the more freely" in search of warmth. We have provided him with a little bonus of food as well, and in exchange he has offered us the pleasure of his company and the opportunity to learn more about his kind.