Saturday, my wife asked me to dispose of half a watermelon rind. But on my way to the trash, I saw the birds eating kernels of rice we'd thrown in the backyard for them so I thought I'd try an experiment. Cutting the watermelon rind into four pieces, I set it in the backyard, sprinkling a little rice on each section.
I wasn't sure what would happen, but I didn't have to wait long to find out. Checking back a short time later, I was tickled to see a small bird herd all over that watermelon. Pigeons and grackles were sharing the feast with finches lurking in the background to see what the big deal was. One pigeon in particular appeared to be drowning itself in the nectar of the red fruit. She would not come up for air!
I left the rinds out over night and the party resumed yesterday morning, lasting until late afternoon when I inspected them to find they had been picked clean! I smiled, thinking for many of those guys that may be the only time in their lives they'll get to experience watermelon.
Well, there's still a bowl in the fridge my wife had seeded and cut into bite sizes for us and I'm wondering: If those birds thought the rinds were good, how would they like a taste of the best part? I think I may have to share.
1 comment:
oh, I wish I'd thought of this for a watermelon we just tore into over the weekend! I've got a few yellow finch-types & quail coming to drink from the "pond" daily, perching on the rocks & very delicately dipping their beaks in, but so far no jumping in for a bath. Maybe if I floated our next watermelon rinds out in the pond? D.K.
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