365Caws is now in its 14th year of publication, and was originally intended to end after 365 days. It has sometimes been difficult for me to find new material, particularly during the winter months, but now as I enter my own twilight years, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to provide daily posts. It is my hope that along the way I may have inspired someone to a greater curiosity about the natural world. If so, I can rest, content in the knowledge that my work here has been done.
Thursday, September 22, 2022
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.
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