Especially for Harry - birds

Dixie

Harry, I thought that you would get a kick out of these. I've been feeding birds for years with seven feeders in my backyard. I rarely take photos of them because who wants to see a bird on a feeder?

However, I will take a few from time to time. This first one is just before these house finchs took off for their first flight. Actually there were five of them, but one had already taken off on its initial flight. Sorry for the mess, but they aren't the cleanest of birds.



They get so use to seeing me around that after they learn to fly they will let me approach them at the feeders for the first two to four weeks. I can put out my finger and they will actually hop right on and let me carry them around. Several times I've tried to get my wife to take a photo of them sitting on my finger, but as soon as anyone else comes close they will fly to a nearby limb. After about a month then they will only let me get about 5-10 feet from them and they will fly off.

This next photo is a house finch that just a minute before was sitting on my finger. When my wife came out with the camera, she (the bird, not my wife) flew up to a limb. I snapped her photo while she was sitting on the limb.



Up until a few days ago, the house finches and the house wrens were the only ones which would let me approach that close and let me touch them just above their legs and hop onto my finger.

Then about a week ago I got a very pleasant surprise. We were visited by a Dark-Eyed Junco. He landed on the rail on our porch and I was able to walk up to him and when I put my finger out, he hopped right on. Then the real surprise was that when I called my wife to grab a camera, he stayed put and posed for a photo.



Hey, they aren't any kind of water bird, but thought that you might get a kick out of seeing them anyway.

jwear

the last one is a great all time shot . not every day you get a wild bird on your hand.I don't think with that look the osprey gave Harry he is going to have him perch on his arm anytime soon love that shot Jeff

Harryb

Hey Dixie,

Thanks and I did get a kick and a half from those wonderful shots. The hosue finch shot is near perfect and the shot fo you with Junco on your finger is amazing.

Having lived in NYC for 57 years I'm a newbie when it comes to birds. The only birds I paid attention to in NYC were the pigeons and that was purely a defensive reaction.

Since I moved to Florida I have been fascinated by the wildlife down here (as if you haven't noticed). Thanks for the thread.

Dixie

jwear wrote:

the last one is a great all time shot . not every day you get a wild bird on your hand.I don't think with that look the osprey gave Harry he is going to have him perch on his arm anytime soon love that shot Jeff

Jeff, only if the osprey wants the arm for lunch.

Dixie

Harryb wrote:

Hey Dixie,

Thanks and I did get a kick and a half from those wonderful shots. The hosue finch shot is near perfect and the shot fo you with Junco on your finger is amazing.

Having lived in NYC for 57 years I'm a newbie when it comes to birds. The only birds I paid attention to in NYC were the pigeons and that was purely a defensive reaction.

Since I moved to Florida I have been fascinated by the wildlife down here (as if you haven't noticed). Thanks for the thread.

Thanks, Harry. I've been meaning to ask you if you've shot down in the Everglades or Big Cypress National Preserve since moving to Florida? If you have, do have any suggestions for some "hot" spots to shoot in either or both?

Just wondered because my wife and I are going to spend a week down in that area after the final Craftsman Truck Race in Homestead in November. If you have time and want to come down, we can have a Canon/Nikon shootout. :

Harryb

Dixie wrote:

Thanks, Harry. I've been meaning to ask you if you've shot down in the Everglades or Big Cypress National Preserve since moving to Florida? If you have, do have any suggestions for some "hot" spots to shoot in either or both?

Just wondered because my wife and I are going to spend a week down in that area after the final Craftsman Truck Race in Homestead in November. If you have time and want to come down, we can have a Canon/Nikon shootout. :

Hey Dixie,

I haven't made it up to that part of Florida yet.:(:

I would love to go there and November should work. Once you have some exact info PM or e-mail me.

digital faerie

oh how wonderful! especially the last shot. it reminds me of a story of a bird I affectionately called "George" (I call all kinds of animals that I find fascinatingly cute George).

I was on my back porch reading a book in the sun when I heard a thud above my head, and a soft "plop" shortly afterwards. I looked around and saw a tiny yellow bird that must've flown into a window. I was so distraught and very carefully scooped him up so as not to hurt him further (I did think he was dead) and just held him for a while on my chest in the sun. After about 15 minutes, he started to wake up and he eventually got to his feet. walked around on my hand for a few minutes, looked up at the sky, looked back at me, and then flew to a nearby bush. I think he was trying to say thanks. I'll never forget it. :cry

I am such a sap!

Khaos

digital faerie wrote:

I am such a sap!

Not at all. I love animals. With them you get what's there. They don't plot, and intentionally plan ill will towards you. They are who they are. They're beautiful in that way.

My friends always tease me, especially my wife. I'm somewhat big and I tend to have a, some call it a short temper, I call it not suffering fools easily , but when it comes to animals, I'm a big softie.

Dixie

digital faerie wrote:

oh how wonderful! especially the last shot. it reminds me of a story of a bird I affectionately called "George" (I call all kinds of animals that I find fascinatingly cute George).

I was on my back porch reading a book in the sun when I heard a thud above my head, and a soft "plop" shortly afterwards. I looked around and saw a tiny yellow bird that must've flown into a window. I was so distraught and very carefully scooped him up so as not to hurt him further (I did think he was dead) and just held him for a while on my chest in the sun. After about 15 minutes, he started to wake up and he eventually got to his feet. walked around on my hand for a few minutes, looked up at the sky, looked back at me, and then flew to a nearby bush. I think he was trying to say thanks. I'll never forget it. :cry

I am such a sap!

You may have hit on something that I hadn't considered. It isn't unusual for me to walk up to the young house finches and house wrens within the first few weeks to maybe a month after they've started flying and have them jump on my finger. However, I've never had any other of the many bird species which frequent my feeders allow me to do it. We have a large glass storm door and the inside door was open that day. I wonder now if he had flown into the door and was recovering on the porch rail when I walked out. He seemed fine when I walked over to him and let him climb on my finger and he did fly away to a nearby tree when I placed him back on the rail. ...but you now have me thinking. Either way it was still a neat experience.

I still think that the house finches and wrens allow me to hold them because they see me looking at them (never touch them though) while they are in the nest before they fly. We've had as many as eight nests on and around the front porch each nesting season (lots of hanging plants for them to build their nests in). I honestly believe that they just get use to me and for that initial period after they've started flying they have no fear of me.

I've even had the mother stay in the nest without fussing at me while I'm looking at the babies. In fact, the mothers have gotten so use to me, many times they will let me water the hanging plants without them leaving the nest.

fish

that's just too cool, dixie. our finches and juncos are nervous little beings. if you look at them sideways, they fly off like they were on fire.