We went for a early outing this morning in order to avoid the expected heat later in the day.

A cloudy-sunny day

The sky was quite cloudy, as this photo shows. Sunny intervals alternated with shady ones.

Myddelton Square Gardens

We bought our coffee at the deli and carried it to the garden in Myddelton Square where we found s bench free.

Free for all

I mentioned the other day that we had bought a bag of bird seed in the pet shop. Today was a chance to try it out. Tigger was hoping to feed the crows but, inevitably, the square’s pigeons claimed their share.

One to one
Photo by Tigger

I noticed that one of the pigeons was missing a foot and wanted to be sure that he had his share. I started by hand-feeding him on the ground but eventually he found the courage to fly onto my knee and I fed him there.

Eating out of my hand
Photo by Tigger

He became brave enough to eat out of my cupped hand.

Using his wings to steady himself
Photo by Tigger

My denim trousers are somewhat slippery for a pigeon and he kept sliding off until he learned to land further up on the flat. When he found himself slipping, he used his wings to steady himself but still fell off several times first.

Interloper!
Photo by Tigger

Another pigeon, a younger one, tried to muscle in. His technique was to perch on my hand. Having two healthy feet, he could get a grip. I accepted him as it was easier just to feed both of them than try to avoid one while feeding the other.

Pigeons in stereo
Photo by Tigger

Once they had gained confidence in me, the pigeons were happy to sit on my knees… as long as they thought there might be food in the offing!

Stroking the pigeon
Photo by Tigger

The pigeon grew confident enough to allow me to stroke his chest with my finger. I’m not claiming that he enjoyed it but that he probably tolerated it in the hope of receiving more food. In the picture, the interloper pigeon arrives, landing on “my” pigeon’s back.

Crows – less ready to approach
Photo by Tigger

In the meantime, Tigger was tossing larger items to a pair of crows. Crows are a lot more suspicious of humans (with good reason) than pigeons are. They would not come closer than a couple of yards or more. We also noticed that they hid much of what we gave them by poking it down among the grass and putting blades of grass on top. I don’t doubt that foraging squirrels and pigeons will find it.

A sunny moment

When the sun shone, the garden looked cheerfully pretty. On the other hand, the cloudy intervals helped to keep the air cool which we appreciated too.

Finishing off the bird seed

We had brought a ration of seed in a screw-top jar and, to finish off, put the remainder in the lid so that the pigeons could enjoy a final feast.

Leaving the garden

Having finished off the seed, we set off for home and lunch. I took the above retrospective photo of the pleasant gardens.

The church amid sunlit trees

After this backward glance, we climbed the hill to home where we had lunch. We may go out again later.

I have mentioned before that I like pigeons and so interacting with them today was very enjoyable. I hope we can repeat the experience again one day soon.