Feeding the Birds

No school this week. After Ladies' prayer and Bible study, I took the kids (Ben, Hannah, Sara, and Alysa) down to Irondequoit Bay to feed the birds. Aside from the few pieces that Sara and Alysa ate, the birds consumed a whole loaf of sandwich white bread. They were hungry.

These geese look like regular farm geese. I don't know if they are a domesticated breed or indigenous to the area. I like them. They are prettier to me than the Canada geese.

The seagulls are noisy, grabby birds but not typically frightening, the swans on the other hand are quite intimidating. One was close enough that I thought he might try to take a piece out of me. I was wearing my winter jacket and didn't think it would hurt (although it might...) but I didn't want to lose my cool and make a fool out of myself by screaming or jumping around like an idiot. I backed off and tossed him some crumbs.

The seagulls are still walking around on what little ice is left near the shore. They put up a fuss and make all kinds of noise when there is food around. My favorite thing is to catch a photo of them in flight. With the wind blowing a little bit today, they were able to hover in the air quite nicely.

The Canada geese will hang out here at the shore for the entire year. As long as there is food and plenty of room to build a nest, they will stay. I've been hearing their calls the past few mornings when I am waking up. Spring can't be too far off when the geese are flying.

I missed getting a picture of the mallard ducks. They are a little more timid, I guess, than the other water foul and stay in a section of water where they are protected and things are a bit more calm. For the price of a loaf of bread we enjoyed a little time at the bay. The girls thought it was fun even if the swans were scary.