Behind the Puddle

There are some mysteries Behind the Puddle that require patience, careful observation, and occasionally Brian standing underneath a maple tree rearranging bird feeders. Today, we apparently became backyard scientists. Our research question was simple: Why won’t these birds eat the expensive birdseed?

We have two identical feeders hanging from different sides of the tree. One had their usual birdseed from Walmart; the stuff they routinely empty in about a day, and the other held the special, considerably more expensive birdseed that I thought would be a treat. Apparently, nobody bothered to explain to the birds that expensive was supposed to mean better.

For days, the fancy feeder remained remarkably full while the Walmart feeder emptied right on schedule. We started wondering whether perhaps it wasn’t the food at all. Maybe the birds simply preferred that particular location in the tree.

So we switched the feeders. And the birds followed the empty one.

There they were, returning to the feeder they knew, apparently looking for dinner while another feeder hung nearby visibly full of perfectly good, unnecessarily expensive birdseed. I couldn’t understand it. Could they smell the difference? Could they see individual seeds well enough to know what was inside? Surely, I thought, empty means no dinner and full means dinner.

But apparently I was thinking like a human instead of a bird.

There was only one reasonable thing left to do. We needed an experiment. Brian went back outside, filled the feeder in its new location with their regular Walmart food, and we left the fancy birdseed exactly where it was.

Then we waited.

It didn’t take long before our first little visitor arrived. Not at the old location. Not at the fancy food. The bird went directly to the newly filled feeder containing the Walmart seed.

One bird was interesting, but one bird wasn’t enough to settle the matter. So I kept watching.

By later in the day, there were three birds gathered around the Walmart feeder at once, including one tucked around the backside where my camera couldn’t quite capture it. The fancy feeder remained untouched.

Experiment complete.

The little birds who live in the bushes along the shore have apparently developed very specific expectations about the restaurant Behind the Puddle. I don’t know whether every one of them is a sparrow or whether a few finches have joined the neighborhood, and honestly, I don’t particularly care. Those two bushes are home to an entire little community, and throughout the day I can hear them coming and going.

Sometimes the bushes seem almost alive with them. Leaves shake, tiny voices chatter from places I can’t see, and suddenly several little birds emerge as though the bush itself has released them. Then, just as quickly, they disappear back inside and the leaves seem to swallow them again.

I like knowing there are families growing up in there.

And apparently those families have opinions.

What began as a question about birdseed became one more lesson in paying attention. We noticed something that didn’t quite make sense. Instead of deciding the birds were simply picky, we wondered why. We changed one thing, watched what happened, changed another, and waited for them to answer.

They did.

There are so many things happening around us that we might never understand completely. But sometimes curiosity doesn’t require an expert answer. Sometimes it simply asks us to notice, wonder, try something different, and keep watching.

Behind the Puddle, the answers don’t usually arrive with much fanfare.

Sometimes they arrive three at a time, perch on a feeder, and eat the Walmart birdseed.

And somewhere inside those laughing bushes, I imagine the neighborhood is relieved that the humans have finally figured it out.

Buy the cheap stuff. We like the cheap stuff. Message received.

Waypoint: Curiosity

For today, ask yourself: What small thing have you noticed lately that might be worth wondering about a little longer?