The Moochers

Day 344: You've heard me say it again and again: "There is nothing...absolutely nothing!...cuter than baby birds." In this case, it's half a dozen young Goldfinches who appeared as a group about five days ago as newly fledged, adorable fuzzballs with astonishing appetites. They gathered en masse on the shepherd's hook in the front flower bed, and when I didn't immediately look up from the computer, began flying to the window and flapping their wings gently against it. To be clear on a point here, they are not striking the window because they don't see it. It's less than a foot from the bend of the hook. I can't imagine that they aren't aware of the barrier and are trying to get inside. No, they are pointedly trying to get my attention. And it works. Sure enough, when I look up to see who's knocking, they'll be there, staring at me, trying to communicate by bird telepathy with the human they know is the Bringer of Food. A visual check of the feeders out the other window confirms it: empty. Whatever I am doing, it is laid aside so that I can fulfill my duties to my avian friends. In a few more hours, there will be another knock at the window, and I will again respond as my trainers expect. They've schooled me well.