When Pat feeds the crows, they may be joined by a pair of sparrows or a pair of finches. If it is meat time, she will chop up a hot dog or come up with some other substantial meal. If it is snack time, she will throw out some peanuts. The peanuts are too large for the sparrows or finches, so, if she has time, she cuts the nuts in half. If busy, she just steps on a few of them on the driveway and reduces them to edible sizes.

The other morning, thinking that some of the crows might come by for a snack, she threw some peanuts out on the driveway. She went back into the house to watch the news. After a few minutes, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned to look and saw the little red-headed finch had landed on the wrought iron rail that borders our front stoop. When they made eye contact, the finch let out a huge chirp. Pat went to the door and said, “I know what you want!” The finch hopped off the rail and flew down to join his mate at the peanuts. Pat walked over and stepped on a few of the nuts to smash them to size. The little birds ate their fill and flew away.

I never spent much time thinking about finches other than noting they were cute little birds. They are about as big as a ping pong ball with wings and probably have a brain the size of a pea. After Pat told me this story, I was amazed to think that a finch could put things together and solve problems. When the male bird saw the peanuts, he knew he couldn’t eat them. He remembered that Pat always fixed the nuts so he could eat them. He also knew that she came from the house. Next, he remembered that he had flown past the window and could see inside the house. He flew to the rail and looked in the window and saw Pat. He knew he had to get her attention, so he let out a large chirp. When Pat came to the door, he knew he had been successful, so he returned to the driveway. The sequence of events tells me that this guy is a thinker. I have chastised myself for not being observant in the past. I’ve learned that the least of us have something to offer, so we had better keep our minds open.

Dave Thomas

4/30/2026