The Case of The Swarming Birds

Last Tuesday, I took the boys to visit Ama and Agong in the afternoon. The boys love walking to the park right around the corner from their grandparents' house, so we try to make a trip there pretty frequently. The weather was fairly mild that day and I brought some crackers to feed the ducks, so I knew the boys would be pretty excited.

We walked to the duck pond with fairly frequent stops so that M could pick up sticks and throw pebbles into the stream. About halfway to the pond, we had to stop to let B get out of the stroller so that he too could pick up sticks and pebbles. What should have been a ten minute walk to the pond turned into something like 45 minutes...walking with young boys is always an adventure.

When we finally made it to the pond, I asked the boys if they wanted to feed the ducks...of course, they did. I gave M a baggy of crackers and the ducks and geese waddled over to him. I gave B a baggy, too, but he was too enthralled with watching the birds swarm that he forgot all about the crackers. Both boys were squealing with laughter and pointing out all the birds. The birds were very mellow and we didn't feel swarmed or invaded at all; even the biggest, meanest goose wasn't being too pushy. In a minute it will become clear why I mention this.

After the feeding was through, the boys chased the ducks around for a good fifteen minutes. They had a great time...I can't say the same for the poor birds. I'm not sure they actually enjoy having two unpredictable boys chasing and screaming at them.

Anyway, two teenagers approached us and asked if we wanted a bag of bread to feed the birds because they were done. They said that the geese had been chasing them...this probably should have raised a red flag for me, but it didn't. I told them that would be great and began to hand the boys some torn up pieces of bread. B was very happy and began to eat a piece...that kid always wants to eat. As soon as the birds caught wind of the bread in our possession, there was a rampage. Every bird in the vicinity, probably around a hundred, swarmed in and were basically trying to eat the bread right out of the boys' hands. B started crying and M yelled at the biggest, meanest goose, "You go away! You are a bad goose! You leave us alone, bad goose!"

While trying not to laugh at M's words, I was trying to shoo off some of the more aggressive birds. Some of them were actually fighting with each other over the bread. It was a bit tense as I picked up B and Ama tried to get M to a different location so the birds weren't completely encircling us. We quickly emptied the bag of bread and moved away so that the foul would leave us alone, me holding B and M hiding behind Ama's legs. Since I doubt we were actually in any danger, it was fairly humorous for me and Ama. Apparently there was no lasting trauma for the boys because as soon as the bread was gone and the birds had settled down, my little munchkins started chasing the smaller ducks again.

It would seem that while crackers pose mild enjoyment for the birds, bread is like crack to them and they can't get enough. Lesson learned...until next time.