Day 26 — Both adults feeding regularly; 5 chicks confirmed; debris accumulating

Overnight from midnight, the female was on the nest in brooding bouts interrupted by brief gaps — typically a minute or two — during which 3–4 chicks were visible huddled in the cup. The pattern recurred through the pre-dawn hours; the short gaps suggest frequent position shifts rather than sustained off-nest absences.

Color footage resumes around 06:00. A feeding event at 06:16 shows 4 chicks gaping with a brown adult at the rim. A male House Finch with red plumage confirmed at 06:36 and again at 07:08–07:09; in those clips 5 chicks are clearly visible gaping, matching the full clutch count. Yellow gape flanges visible on chicks at 06:49. Both adults made feeding visits at roughly 20–40 minute intervals through the rest of the day — the male confirmed at a dozen or more visits, the female at several others. Between visits, chicks were unattended for increasingly long stretches, consistent with declining brooding as the nestlings age.

Seed debris and droppings around the nest cup are first noted prominently at 07:22 and described as heavy or covering the shelf in multiple clips by mid-afternoon. At 21:19, two adult birds appear at the nest simultaneously — one settled in the cup, one perched at the rim leaning over — the only clip in today’s footage showing both adults present together. The female was back brooding by around 19:30–20:00 and remained on the nest through the end of the day.

5 chicks visible simultaneously confirmed in at least four clips (07:08, 09:35, 10:22, 13:50), consistent with the full clutch being alive and active.

Pipeline: No infrastructure changes this day.

Day’s metrics.

• Clips: 588
• Sunrise / sunset: 05:54 / 20:15 PT
• On-cup share: 23.8%
• Dad visits: 0
• Brooding clips: 141
• Feeding clips: 0
• Chick gapes: 1
• Max chicks visible: 4