After parking the car, I walked along the road that would lead me to the trail. When I neared a tree, I could hear the familiar chirping of birds... of either the sunbirds or flowerpeckers? I could never tell the difference as they both sound very similar to me, but I had always liked to watch them, so I stopped for a look.
There were quite a number of birds on that tree. Instead of dragonflies, I ended up with photos of these birds...
A Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker with a cherry in its grasp...
Another Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker feeding on a cherry...
An Orange-bellied Flowerpecker feeding away...
Another Orange-bellied Flowerpecker... decisions, decisions... which cherry is sweeter?
A female Orange-bellied Flowerpecker eyeing a juicy cherry...
This tree, the Muntingia calabura, or Cherry Tree, is named for its sweet fruit that is full of tiny seeds, which is a favourite for birds, bats, kids... and me! And there were lots of these sweet, delicious, red, ripe, juicy cherries on that tree waiting to be picked. I would have helped myself to some but I did not want to disturb the birds and scare them away.
Those birds were initially a bit restless with me standing there and they kept flying back and forth to another tree and then back again. After a while, sensing that I am just standing there and not doing any harm to them, the birds happily went back to their feeding frenzy.
Yummy cherries!
