So much goes on that we never see. Is there a word for the feeling of awe or amazement when observing something natural that you never knew or suspected took place? I like watching the birds at our feeders and for the most part it’s business as usual. Land, grab a seed, husk and eat it, keep an eye out for predators and fly off.
They sometimes opt to naturally forage in the mowed grass beneath. No idea what they find but seems there’s always something being consumed. The other day I see something I’ve never witnessed before, a finch eating the yellow flower of a dandelion. Not the white parachute of a dandelion gone to seed but the flower itself. It would stab into it, the flower would break off and then the bird shook it until a beak sized yellow portion broke off to be consumed. Kind of like when a bird grabs a piece of bread and shakes it apart. My wife also saw this and for us, it was totally new experience.
Yesterday we drive along Niagara River and stop at one of many lookout/rest areas that line the river’s banks. Birds are foraging amongst some early Spring grass and dandelions. We started talking about the dandelion eating finch we saw in our backyard couple days previous when lo and behold a sparrow starts dining on a dandelion flower in front of us. Twice over two days I witness the same event and so I start wondering is this something new? Google time. Turns out these birds will eat dandelion seeds, except in our case the plants show no evidence of going to seed as yet.
My question is whether or not developing seeds are available in the flower prior to it forming the familiar white ball of mature seeds ready to be set adrift with the wind? Unless there’s nutritional value in the petals, idk.