Bafin Is Going To Be A Male!

Ok, it's been a while since my last post, but there wasn't much to write about. We've been watching Bafin growing up, and now we know he's going to be a male. His colors are slowing changing, and from plain brown, he's now starting to get the black under his head, and orange cheeks.

Most of his head feathers have come off, and he's looking rather vulture'ish!

Here are a few photographs of Bafin with his changing feathers ... isn't nature amazing?!

Here you can see how all his feathers have come off, and also the orange forming on his cheeks



And here's the black forming on his chest



Bafin with Rachel



And here you can see both the black forming on his chest, and the orange forming on his cheeks

More Of Bafin

Now that Bafin has kind of grown up and the other finches have more or less settled down with no eggs being laid and no nests, my posts cease to be daily posts as well.

Here are some photographs of Bafin taken about a week ago.

Becks In Portrait

Here is Becks ... As you can see, she's almost identical to Rachel, except that she has a very light brown streak on her tail.

And Here Are Chandler And Becks Bathing!

Our birdies have a bath everyday, and we make sure they have enough water to do so. One bowl contains their drinking water, and they have another one with their bath water.

The first one goes in for a bath, and then they all follow suit which is quite amusing to watch!

Here are Chandler and Becks having a bath.

Becks just out from her bath, and Chandler about to begin his.



Chandler splashing about while Becks looks on ....



She can't take it anymore, and in she goes!



Chandler with his feathers all wet and ruffled.

Phoebe Having A Bath!

A hot sunny morning, and what better way to cool off than by having a bath? Here Phoebe shows us how she cools off!

Phoebe In Portrait

Here are some pics of Phoebe, otherwise known as Bafin's Mom!

She's the tiniest of the lot, and the only one smaller ( but very slightly only ) is Bafin.

Rachel In Portrait

Rachel is one of the two finches that we got later from Galiff Street.

I have to say she and Becks are not as cute as our original six, but here she's looking quite sweet.

In Remembrance ... Yet Again

Just a quick update to say the baby didn't make it. We feared as much, and tried everything we could, but it just wasn't to be.

The New Baby - Day 2

Ross and Monica are still totally disinterested in their nest, and to try and save the new baby, we moved Ross and Monica out, and put Joey and Phoebe in their cage instead. Considering that Joey's been such a good Dad to Bafin, we tried doing whatever we could do give the baby a chance.

Here are a few photographs of Bafin and his parents in the meantime.

Bafin ( left ) and Phoebe ( right ).



Bafin ( right ) with Joey ( left ), while Phoebe looks on from behind.



Bafin ( right ) with Joey ( left ) again.

Ross And Monica's New Baby

Ross and Monica; and Chandler and Becks ... both couples seem to have just abandoned their nests overnight. Both nests had five eggs until last night, and this morning one of Ross and Monica's eggs hatched. However neither parent seemed interested in the baby, or the nest. Fingers crossed that they change their minds by tomorrow morning, or the baby won't survive.

Joey Trying To Get Bafin To Be Independent ... On Independence Day!

Joey's being a really good Dad, while Phoebe in a way almost ignores poor Bafin! Everytime Bafin sees Joey he starts screeching and yelling asking for food. These days though instead of immediately feeding him, Joey tries to teach him how to eat on his own.

Joey ( on the right ) teaching Bafin how to eat, while Phoebe ( on the left ) looks on



Bafin with his feathers all ruffled up!



Most of Bafin's photographs have been taken with the zoom on, here's a photograph to show you how small he really is.

In Remembrance, And More Of Bafin

Our little baby finch didn't make it as we feared. He was just too tiny to survive and we knew he wouldn't make it almost as soon as we saw him. The parents also threw out their last remaining egg.

Now that Bafin is out of his nest, we've taken out the nests from the cage, so that both couples stop laying eggs. One Bafin is more than enough for us! However Ross and Monica; and Chandler and Becks have 5 eggs each, so let's see what happens with those.

Coming back to Bafin, here are a few pics of me holding him, and him sitting on my hand. He's turned out to be one cute little finch! You can see how small his head is when you compare it to the size of my fingernail. He also drank water and took a bath for the first time today!

Ricky And Rachel's Egg Hatches!

One of Ricky and Rachel's eggs hatched this morning. The baby is the tiniest we've seen so far, so not too sure of it's chances of survival. We're keeping our fingers crossed! The other egg is yet to hatch, so that should happen in the next day or two.

Here's a photograph of little baby finch, and the yet to hatch egg.



And here's Bafin learning how to fly, Part Two!

He jumps to the first perch, and then the second ... and the two who don't look too happy with him are Ricky and Rachel. They don't really hurt him, but they do try and give him the occasional peck if he ventures too close to them, but that doesn't stop him. Determined little fellow isn't he?!

Tame Lil Bafin!

Bafin's not scared of us at all, and I'm rather hoping he stays that way. Of course once he gets older, and wiser, that might change! Here are a few pics of our lil baby!

Calling out for food - that seems to be his favourite passtime!



Hmmmm ... no food :(



Wait! Is that finger coming towards me with food?!



No?! Ok, I'll settle for some petting instead!

Bafin Learning How To Fly

People beware, you're going to get an overdose of Bafin for a while ( as if that hasn't already happened! ).

Here's a video of Bafin's baby footsteps ... and his excited parents, and grandparents ( us! ) watching and egging him on!

Ro first takes him to a higher perch, so that he realises he needs to start flying. As you can see he's not scared of us at all anymore. He's quite ok with being held, and doesn't kick up a fuss.

Daddy Joey Finch is the one on the ladder with him, looking more anxious than lil Bafin!

Bafin's Funny Head Feathers!

Bafin is such a joy to watch that he just keeps us engrossed all the time! He's become quite good at hopping around, and manages to get in and out of the nest without any difficulty now. He's slowly learning to fly as well.

His feathers have more or less developed now, but he's still got some funny down like feathers on his head. Have a look!

See his funny feathers ... from this angle!



And now from this angle!



Calling out for food ...



And this is what happens when he doesn't get food when he wants it - he gets into his scary avataar!

Bafin's Trying To Fly!

The next set of photographs says it all ... so enough with the words, and more of the captions!

Bafin sitting in the corner of the cage on his first day out of the nest, wondering how he's ever going to get back in!



Daddy Finch Joey comes along and sings " This is how we do it" Montell Jordan style!



First test your wings ... have they grown enough?! Yes?! Now try flying!



Bafin's thinking "I'm trying so hard, but I'm too scared to let go!"



And then finally gives up for now ... "oh cut me some slack, it's my first day out!"