For the last week or so, a small group of Canada geese has been grazing in my front yard every day for hours. Now, I suspect they can take care of themselves, but I thought they might like a drink. Like many subdivisions, our street has a rain gutter down each side of it.
I put a garden hose in the driveway, and let the water flow down to the street and into the gutter. Turns out they loved the idea, wandering over and drinking and splashing a bit.
That was what I expected. However, the strange part is the bluebirds. I have dozens in the area, and they spend a lot of time grabbing bugs and such from the yard or driveway.
When I turned on the water, it made its way slowly down the gentle slope of my driveway, and bluebird after bluebird swooped down to the crawling, moving fingers of water…and hovered. They would hover for a moment - about a foot high - then fly away. As the leading edge of water moved slowly forward down the street, they would all do the same - come hover, then dash away. None of them has seen fit to take a drink or bath in it like the geese.
It seemed clear that they were nervous or even scared of this phenomenon, even though they are surely familiar with rain and water.
Were they scared, or just waiting for the floodwaters to stir up something good to eat because they’re actually smarter than me?