I have a pollinator garden, birdfeeders, and multiple birdbaths outside my kitchen window. A small table and chairs make it possible to observe at close range, unnoticed by the insects and birds.
Insects seem to prefer flowers that are in full sun, even if another of the same flower is next to it in the shade. A few bees visit the flowering herbs, and sip water from the birdbaths. The South has been experiencing prolonged drought and the bees are thirsty.
Birds visit the baths in clusters several times a day. Smaller birds make way for larger, conciliatory birds for the more aggressive. I’m certain there are other rules that I don’t understand, and don’t even see. It takes time for them to trust anything novel– a new bath, a piece of fruit, an intentionally placed perch. How decidedly they avoid anything new signifies they have noticed and seem to be integrating it into their maps.
Hummingbirds sometimes come in pairs and coordinate their arrival and departure, one seemingly hurrying its mate along.
There are a few birds that I recognize as residents of my large yard which abuts a park on one side. I can see them return to their nests in the bushes. There are also some spectacular seasonal migratories. These visitors are the most likely to crash into my windows, even though they have protective decals on them. They simply do not know their way around my yard.
I spend a few minutes at a time at this window, noticing patterns in the activity. Among the regulars to my yard, there is nothing random about the times of day they show up, or the pathways taken to and from the baths, and, in the winter, the feeders.
What would the map look like if I superimposed these many patterns of activity over an entire day? A month? A year?
(Diagram of one bird making a single trip to and from a birdbath)
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