by Charles Fischer

Created on: January 09, 2009

Wild birds can be some of the most entertaining and sweet characters to watch. I have had the pleasure of viewing many such characters, as we live part-time on a small acreage near a shallow lake that is deemed a bird sanctuary. Our bird feeder is a realistic caricature of a miniature log cabin that we were fortunate enough to come across in the city on one advantageous garbage day. We set it up in our back garden surrounded with well-grown spruce trees.

Our garden has attracted a variety of birds and we found it necessary to deter our cats by attaching the feeder to a four-foot pole wrapped in metal sheeting. The most common guests are a nervous downy woodpecker and a small crowd of chickadees. In the summer a pair of American Goldfinches often make themselves at home, and Cedar Waxwings sometimes stop for a quick bite. As we have a room opening onto the back garden, it is easy to sit and watch the birds in comfort, and to take pictures.

For our birdseed we use a pre-bought blend designed to attract a variety of wild birds. We also hang a cage of suet that seems to be a particular attraction for woodpeckers. Although it is very relaxing to sit and watch the birds through the window, or watch them from underneath the elder tree, I felt like trying something new this winter. Having read a very sweet book about how an older fellow would attract wild birds to eat right out of his hand, I was intrigued. As I recall, the best time to try this trick is on the coldest days of winter, when there is fresh snow and the birds are particularly hungry.

Although this task involved sitting outside for several hours in the coldest weather (and in the process almost freezing my fingers), I was
perseverant. It was a childhood dream of mine to have a wild bird come and sit on my hand. So I grabbed a little plastic stool, grabbed the whole bag of birdseed, put on the biggest winter parka I could find, and went to sit out under the bird feeder. I sat there for almost an hour just to let the birds get used to me. At first the chickadees spent a good deal of time scolding me, but gradually forgot I was there and went on eating from the bird feeder. Next I took some seed from the bag and held it out on my hand. Eventually I realized they would never eat from my hand as long as they had the alternative of eating from the feeder.

So I scooped up all of the food from the feeder (to an even louder scolding from the birds) and went back to statuesque silence on the stool. After cleaning up all of the remnants from under the feeder, and hours later, a cautious chickadee flitted onto my hand, and promptly stole a sunflower seed. For three days after this momentous event, I sat patiently and the birds became more used to my presence. Now they will actually come and jump on my jacket when I am sitting in the garden, in the hopes that I will have some birdseed with me.

Although it's more relaxing and warmer to enjoy bird watching from a distance, I found it nothing compared to the excitement of the little titmouse landing on my finger. Anyone with time and a little patience can try this, and you can do it anywhere you find birds. In places where birds are already used to people, like city parks, or other areas where people have hand-fed birds before, you can try the experience with little waiting at all. Just carry a little birdseed in your pocket, and give it a try.

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