Notso’s visit on January 7th was as short as it was unexpected.
We presume she had attached herself to a flock of starlings and after her brief hello, she was gone once more.
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Cowbirds are often seen with red-winged blackbirds and starlings but Notso was alone and we suspected she thought of herself as a sparrow, after hatching in a sparrow’s nest.
After she went off, apparently with a flock of starlings, we did not expect to see her again but we missed her.
.
What was it about this little brown cowbird that touched us so?
It wasn’t just our love of birds or small vulnerable creatures. Perhaps deep down we were making associations with human situations, though I am not convinced about that.
In part I think it was the delight of witnessing an unusual occurrence which felt like such a privilege.
Notso flew back off leaving us with smiles and a lift in our hearts.
.
The starlings have been coming and going, so I watched out for Notso but she stayed gone.
Then, on January 11th:
Hello!..
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The sparrows had a couple of breakfast visitors.
Master Sparrow was fetched.
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“If we’d known you were coming, we would have asked for extra provisions, but please share our seed!”
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They enjoyed a frenzied feed, all the while seeming to exchange gossip.
“So what’s going on out there in the wide world?”
“If I was you, little sparrows, I’d stick here and not go exploring. It’s tough out there.”
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“What we really came for was to find our Notso.”
“We heard she was here?”
“That was 4 sleeps ago.”
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“See him over there? Mr Starling.”
“That’s who you should ask.”
Presumably they did, because the 2 male cowbirds went off with the starlings and they did not come back.
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A few days went by and snow arrived, as always bringing out the juncos.
Where do they get to when there is no snow?
We’ll see one or two but never more
They remind me of English robins.
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It wasn’t long before others turned up.
“Em, excuse us, but we were here first!”
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During a brief lull in the activity, a dove came looking for a snack.
“Who might you be?”
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“It’s a bit cold and there’s usually a few seeds to be had here.”
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“Yeah? Well this is our turf, so buzz off!”
“Turf? Isn’t that green stuff?”
“Don’t get cute with me! Now buzz!”
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“Did you have to be so rude to her?”
“Don’t you know she’s a dove?”
“Got to be polite to doves!”
“Says so in bird etiquette.”
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“Yah, booh!”
A free-for-all ensued.
To the vast entertainment of a certain cat…
.
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“Um, you’re not coming out are you?”
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Tinkerbelle was riveted.
Thank you, Carolyn, for the beautifully scripted story of the birds visiting your cafe! You lifted my spirit and made me smile! Thank you!
Joanna
What a lovely story. One time I saw a sparrow feeding a baby cow bird. The sparrow was probably wondering how her baby got so big so fast!!
I’m surprised all of the cats weren’t lined up to watch!
Again. Like magic. Out of ‘nothing’ something that keeps me reading through to the end. Thank you. All photos good but the top two are outstanding! (Even though they are without cat ears.)
Good entertainment for you and Tinkerbelle, and all for the price of some seeds.
Best wishes, Pete.
Well, I’ll remember the “bird etiquette” … here often doves come to our garden. Then they bathe in the bird bath, eat some seed, but most of the time they just sit around- sometimes up to 12 of them! Oh, how I’d like to know what Tinkerbelle thinks …