[bcbirdclub] Very Tame Pine Siskins
- From: "Roger Mayhorn" <rmayhorn@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "BCBC Listserve" <bcbirdclub@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2009 20:03:21 -0500
Some of you may have noticed with the recent Pine Siskin invasion, that they
are fairly easy to approach. Today, as I was putting out a new suet cake, a
Siskin landed on the thistle sock about two feet from me. I stood and watched
it for a moment, then I very slowly began to stretch my ungloved hand toward
it. It continued to feed. It took me probably 30 to 45 seconds to extend my arm
so that my hand was touching the thistle sock. The Siskin would look at me from
time to time but continue to feed.
A second Siskin flew in and there was a skirmish. The second Siskin flew to a
nearby branch. The combat caused the sock to turn. As it slowly turned, the
feeding Siskin came nearer my hand. Finally its tail feathers were touching my
finger. When it felt the pressure of the feathers against my finger it moved up
about an inch. It continued to feed. I moved my hand upward slowly until my
finger was touching its foot. It just moved its foot away from my finger and
continued to feed.
I figured by that time that I had bothered it enough, so I slowly backed away
and left it to feed. If you have never touched a wild bird that can fly away at
any moment, it is an enjoyable experience. I have done it several times with
goldfinches, chickadees (they would even fish out seeds that were down between
my fingers), titmice and nuthatches.
Try it sometime. Standing still and letting the birds get used to you being
there is the key. If you have the patience to do it for 15 to 20 minutes each
day, they will soon get used to you. When you first start you may want to take
down the feeders and hold seeds in your extended hand. Your arm will get tired,
so if you can rest it on something, you can stay a lot longer.
Roger Mayhorn
Compton Mt
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