The wildlife is used to being fed at Cherry Hill Gate in Hamilton’s Royal Botanical Gardens.
I suspect that these signs have just been posted:
As a result, several species have developed techniques to draw attention to themselves and, hopefully, receive a few grains of seed from passersby who have not noticed or choose to disregard the signs.
Blue Jays and Cardinals do it by sheer beauty. They land with a flourish somewhere nearby and assume flattering positions.
Downy Woodpeckers come so close that you could touch them and then stare at you:
Nuthatches try to capture your attention by assuming interesting positions:
Chickadees fly directly towards you every few minutes and veer out of the way at the last moment:
Red-winged Blackbirds fly to a perch just behind you and try to deafen you with high-pitched screams.
In the Toronto area, squirrels will sometimes beg for food:
Chipmunks, on the other hand, race away as soon as they see you. Not here however.
They have a system of walking directly in front of you so that you almost fall over trying to avoid stepping on them. It certainly assures that you will notice them.
Scenes from the nature trail:
Birds that I was able to photograph:
NATURE POETRY
May brings flocks of pretty lambs,
Skipping by their fleecy dams. – Sara Coleridge (1802–52)
Miles Hearn
Just Superb photos, Miles. What a way to start each day by viewing them! Very uplifting and inspiring!
Thanks for providing these on a daily basis.
Some of these photos should be turned into posters.
I second that motion about turning photos into posters!
Poor things! Are the painted turtles showing off too? I am making the safe (in this season) assumption that the birds have natural sources of food and are not completely dependent on what people give them (even if they would like to get it!) Gorgeous pictures, Miles. Thanks!
I was in Hamilton at the Royal Botanical Gardens last summer. Those signs were up last year (about not feeding the animals/ birds) but all the locals seemed to be in the habit of ignoring those signs. I observed the same bird and in particular, chipmunk behaviour as described above.
I so enjoy these daily reports. Miles, you are doing all of us a great service. Thank you and please keep it up.
Wonderful pictures of a lot of birds and the other animals. . And some interesting information too.
So a bunch of crows is called a murder of crows. I didn’t know that. I will beware of them the next time I see them.