Finches, Crows, Baxter and Our Water Fountain

There is nothing really more enjoyable that a good swallow of cold, clean water from a drinking fountain on a warm day.  A well-maintained fountain in a strategic location allows people to take a good sip or fill their water bottle. But water is not just timely for the human species.  Every animal eventually needs water in one form or other, and a fountain is a great vehicle for such.  we used to have old cast iron wheel-wells on the farm for a range of livestock…..cattle, horses, swine, cats and dogs, and even chickens to get a little hydration.  The chickens are some of the most interesting beasts to drink from those non-bubbling “fountains”.  They sit on the edge, with surprising balance, take a drink and then throw their heads back to swallow and savour.

In recent years, we have had a small fountain with a pump that pushes water upward and out onto the top of a big ceramic vase-like structure.  In our backyard, it has become a way station for our beagle.  Baxter climbs up the little step that Alex made and then he can roam around among the trees and plants on the raised perimeter of our patio, and while he loves to nose around in the foliage and also look for various “Greenie” bones in buries out there, he especially likes to sidle up to the fountain, and laps up quite a few milliliters of fresh looking water. He looks at us as he quenches his thirst, enjoying the fact that his long beagle ears hang down into the cycling water.  One can always tell where he has been when he comes to see you with wet ears.

Yet Baxter is not alone in his enjoyment of the fountain.  In the earlier Spring, a whole battalion of finches would arrive several times a day to flit, land and delicately ingest a little water.  They always were watchful to be sure that they were not in danger while they got their fill.  In recent weeks, the finches have been replaced by the Crows of Kitsilano.  These intrepid, boisterous, aggressive birds often come in two’s, one after the other and occasionally together, to not only drink from the fountain, but also to wash food in the fountain water.  And interesting degree of intellectual superiority seems to be at play with the crows.  And, we of course are not surprised, since crows are incredibly smart creatures. They are similar to the finches in one key way…..being skittish and aware of who might attack or damage one of their own.  They watch us through the open patio door and are not bothered by our presence, unless we make a sudden move or move out of sight…….where I might be deemed as an enemy planning a raid on their beings.

The birds remind us that the peaceful daily lives of animals who love and need water as much as we do, goes on every day in little scenes that we witness and also in those places we never see.  Thank heavens for the many places for animals to gain water.  It is a critical feature in the Earth’s ecosystems and can never be taken for granted.