There Is Nothing...

Day 295: Friends know the phrase well: "There is nothing...absolutely nothing!...cuter than baby birds!" The last several weeks have provided me with much amusement in the character of newly-fledged Evening Grosbeak kids being fed by one or both parents. There is much to be learned from the patience seen here, and from the occasional demonstration of "tough love"when mom or dad decides it's time for Junior to find food on his own. That said, these are familiar sights. Not so, the youngster who was being instructed in how to drink from the birdbath. A young male, not yet in full colour but with white wing patches fairly well developed, was receiving instruction from Dad: "Look, you bend over, get a beakful of water, tip your head back, and it runs down your throat." The youngster's sense of balance was a little dodgy, and he seemed to be afraid he was going to fall backwards off the rim. He turned around so that his tailfeathers were resting on the bowl, but when he tipped his head back, the tip of his tail slipped to the side and got wet. He shook it off, releasing a sudden Parrot-sized rainstorm. The shower startled him the first time, and then he seemed to realize that the cool water felt good. He decided to forgo drinking lessons in favour of stepping down onto the first tier of the basin for a full and very splashy bath. Dad retreated to the safety of the nearby fence while I watched from the kitchen doorway, wishing I'd had the camera at hand. This breeding season has been one of the most successful so far, with hardly any fatalities. If you're thinking of buying stock, invest in sunflower seeds. I may have to start buying them by the semi-load.