That's SO cool Tigerdawn!! Post pictures if you're able to take some without bothering the little family. Good luck with watering once the little family moves in :o)

That really is cool.
Could you possibly insert a long wick at the bottom of the pot and wick the water up? You wouldn't have to disturb the family.
Gail

Love it! Can't wait for the family portraits!

The worst part is I was planning to repot this one soon! I'll look into the wick idea... And I'll try to get pictures soon. Right now it's just the beginnings of a nest, but still very exciting!

I think it was Jan or maybe Denise who has morning doves build a nest in a Hoya basket. I think the finches will take less of a toll on the plant than doves so hopefully you can get to watch the finches raise some young ones without too much stress on the plant.
Some photos would be great although baby birds are not the cutest creatures until they get some feathers. LOL

Mike

Hey now, the birds are our allies in the B-game babies group. Our babies might have some hair, but bunnies and wolves and bears and cats and penguins and hedgehogs and pigs and elephants and hippos and horses and lambs and turtles and well pretty much everything but birds and insects and wombats... totally school us!

I remember those doves. ^_^ I think the verdict was that it was still worth it.

I actually think baby birds are pretty cute. Their funny little gaping mouths begging for food amuse me. They are cute with feathers too, don't get me wrong. I've found baby robins as a kid. You just hover over them with a finger and they open their beaks wide. I guess pointing a finger at them looks like a beak :)

I would worry about watering too. But then I think, birds build nests in trees and such, and it rains in nature. Trees don't block all the rain. So I guess they are able to deal with it, right? Maybe if you set it where it can get rained on, that will help. And if it hasn't rained often enough for it, using a hose attachment to simulate rain droplets? Just an idea.

That's true, some hose attachments have extremely gentle cycles. I've never figured out what they are for, but now I know: misting baby birds.

I do agree their feeding behavior is totally endearing.

GG, just in case you want to know what they are for besides misting baby birds... they are for watering seedlings, so you can hydrate them without blasting them away. So, I guess the attachments are for misting baby living entities, eh? :)

Yes, every time I saw those little hungry baby bird mouths open wide, I wished I had something to give them. BUT, momma and daddy birds are much better at that than I am.

TD, what an awesome find! That's really cool! Mom's big hobby is birdfeeding/watching. We have a few birdhouses that usually a pair of barn swallows, a robin and a pair of Eastern bluebirds build in. No robins nested here yet but I do see the swallows flying around and checking out the one nestbox ^_^. Agreed that they are homely when young but something's kinda cute about them. Can't wait for the pictures!

Brad AKA Moonwolf

/Quinn An attachment for baby living entities. I like that. ^_^

You would be surprised how capable you are of being a good bird mother, in the situation of an orphaned baby. We raised quite a few when I was growing up and those little guys are well designed because even with inept humans they know how to communicate and gobble. Not so with all baby animals, but baby birds are tuff.

You are braver than me. Every spring the finches try to nest in my big hoya, which is all the way back on my deck next to my house. But I shoo them away, because they are sooo messy (while building their nest), they are loud (sounds like they are actually in my house), and I'm fearful of what will happen when they lay eggs (not sure we can co-exist peacefully). They are VERY persistent ,,, I keep waving them off and they keep coming back. After several days they finally give up. We go through this every spring. I don't feel too bad because I back up to miles of greenspace, so they have plenty of other options.

Anyway, you'll have to take pictures and let us know how it goes. Good luck.

I finally got pictures. We are getting pretty cold tonight (39F forecast) so I brought everyone in. The finches are still building the nest and aren't staying yet so I felt pretty safe about it.

Too cute! Now I struggle to imagine your plant WITHOUT a nest!

that is so cool. maybe you could just carefully and gently water around the edges? I wouldn't stress over it too much. Hoyas can go some time between water, and after hatching,baby birds are out of the nest pretty fast.

I had a robin's nest in my 'KP' last summer. I would just watered lightly several times so that it didn't flood the nest. But it WAS an awful mess when the babies finally left the nest. Oh, the horror of the bird poop! But it was worth the mess. I love watching birds, and figure a little inconvenience is worth it.

Denise in Omaha

Awesome! That looks like such a perfect place to build a nest. So hidden down in the leaves.
lol it looks like some are a bit nibbled.
I hope you keep posting pictures!

At least it's the reverted leaves that are getting nibbled! I think the pair is still working on the nest. I don't see them during the week because of work but the nest is getting more formed and the birdseed is being eaten. The other day I saw the male up on top of my roof singing. It made me smile.

But I'm going to keep worrying until I see eggs. And then I'll worry until I see chicks. And then I'll worry until they fly. And then I'll worry about the neighborhod cats... Is this what being a human mom is like?! Agh!

lmao! Pruning via bird.