Bird diary for May 2013 Gouldians versus star finches

First here is the nest our star finch build over the past four days . It began as a tuft of grass which he just kept adding to until he built this tall 'building'. We have replenished the grass daily and he picks out the longest hardest to carry piece and carries it in stages. When he gets to his nest he spends ages weaving it and arranging before heading back for another.  His mate watches. He even finds time to pick up a long blade of grass and waves it up and down in front of her. She seems impressed by this.
Our star finches have been together a year now. We first got a pair from a breeder and after the first year the male died. We got another young male and he is very enthusiastic at winning over the hen. I dont think she will be able to resist him after seeing the quality of his nest but time will tell.
 They took over a gouldian nest box for a while and lined it with white feathers. We read that they like white feathers and this proved true. The Gouldians wouldnt use it till I removed the white feathers and made up a nest inside the box with a ball of dry grass hollowed out in the middle by using my fist.

 The late hatched gouldians from last year never really coloured up that well. Here is the youngest male who still looks half finished going by his not quite orange head

His mother below who has had to find a new mate this year as hers fell off the perch

 This male has chicks in his nest but looks hen pecked. We read lots about Gouldian Finches mostly after buying a pair from the pet shop, then the hen died one month after followed by the cock bird six month later.
They may have been old but it may also have been something to do with the cold.
But the Gouldians we have now come from Hamilton and locally (Manawatu).

We read that Gouldians are very shy and take a while to check out nest boxes. Ours moved back and watched us put them up then moved in immediately.
We read that Gouldians are very shy and the mating takes place in the nestbox. Ours showed off and behaved more like parrots.

We havent been able to tempt them to eat mealy worms yet but they do eat insects that they catch themselves inside our outdoor planted aviary.
From our observations, both take turns at sitting on the eggs and when hatched, both share the rearing but once they come out, we found that the hen mostly ignored them and set about getting ready for a new brood while the harrassed father did all the feeding.
 Our Gouldians breed from May onward and the Stars look as though they are winter breeders as well.

The only other addition is our infrared reptile lamp we got from WetPets for only $29. http://www.petsunlimited.co.nz/index.php?page=shop/flypage&product_id=801&PHPSESSID=c5o81crfs4coqepmh6vltilpj1

We put up in their roosting space. Connected to a daylight switch from www.dx.com  (http://dx.com/p/intelligent-sensor-light-control-switch-ac-220v-119851) it comes on at dusk and off at dawn. Using infrared is useful as apart from offering heat, not being white light, it doesnt keep them awake and yet provides enough light for them to change perches or find food. In winter that can be the difference between dead and alive when the temperature drops to freezing. While windchill is the killer, we were told by another breeder that they turn a light on from about 4am so that the birds can find their food which also helps them stay warm and alive.
Keeping the nest boxes dry can be another problem. We had one under cover but it was touching the shed wall and this was getting wet and the nest box absorbed all the water from the well wall. When we took it down because the birds seemed to be eating stuff from the entrance way we found toadstools, soaking wet nest, two abandoned eggs and mold. Washing out and bleaching later, the nest box is sitting waiting to dry out before we put it back. Modifications to the shed wall and a rain guard were added which I have hit my head on twice now.