During the winter I put out seed to feed the birds. In the fullness of summer, however, the birds feed luxuriously on the seeds available in the yard. One of my favorite diners is the goldfinch which loves to eat the seed out of my sunflowers. In years past, they have tended to wait until the blooms were fading to eat the seeds. Somehow this year they have discovered that the seeds are delectable right out of the new flower. In the middle of this picture, you can see two black spots where the birds have devoured all the seeds causing the petals to fall off the sunflower.

My neighbor takes particular delight in our sunflowers. When she sits out in her back yard she can look over and see the bobbing joyful blooms. Last year they failed to grow, the seeds perhaps having been eaten by squirrels, and she told me how much she missed them. Fortunately this year’s early bumper crop is largely from volunteers from overlooked bird feed from the winter. I guess even squirrels have their limit!

Yesterday my husband watched a hummingbird and a goldfinch squabble over one particular flower. Clearly there are enough for all the birds, but they seemed to favor that specific one. Reminded me a little of a little kid being certain that the sibling’s cookie is somehow better, bigger or tastier than the one in front of her.