A FIRST FOR ME ~ hand-feeding ~ SMAP ROUND 205

in Feathered Friends13 hours ago

After watching a video I thought maybe I could pull this off.

A gentleman in a video that I just recently watched was feeding Black-capped Chickadees from his hand. He made several key points that needed to be followed if you were going to have any luck doing the same.

  • Constant supply of seed in the same location.
  • They must get used to your presence.
  • use black-oiled sunflower seeds.
  • must have Black-capped Chickadees in the area.
  • keep any movements to a minimum.

For the past several months the snow has been piling up. Rather than filling the bird feeders I've been shoveling off the front deck and scattering seed all around. Black-capped Chickadees have been feeding from the deck nonstop. I've spent hours observing them devour every morsel. It seemed to me that all of the suggestions he made I had been doing for a while.

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After sitting quietly for several minutes with my gloves off, the freezing temps had me contemplating putting my gloves back on. Just about when I was going to give up a bird landed in my hand. The excitement had me forget about the numbness as one bird after another fed from my palm.

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It was not easy to get the pictures, feeding with one hand and snapping off one picture after the next with the other hand was a challenge. I must have taken 100 pictures. After going through all of them I was delighted with some of the shots. I even caught the birds in flight just before landing.

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I was surprised by the patience they showed as the next bird would be in the on-deck circle waiting for its turn to feed from my hand.

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For the past several days the chickadees and I have become great friends. Within a few minutes, they now land, feed, and return in rapid succession. WHAT A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE!

Sort:  

Cold hands, warm heart I believe...

What an amazing time to spend with little friends trusting enough to feed from your hand. Gorgeous photos a keeper!

Birds call us some may enter the kitchen or close to remind us never tried hand feeding, well done, mission accomplished.

@tipu curate

That is wonderful! Very exciting. I love how they wait their turns!

A lovely post, and yeah taking action shots with one hand, while the other hand is busy, becomes an art after a while. Happy that you got things right.

!PIZZA !LOL !LUV

The other day I snuck into the local zoo and spotted an albino Cheetah
It was the least I could do for him.

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I can feel the thrill of that experience. Happy little creature in the warm and nurturing hand of the feeder @thebigsweed. May you have more lovable feathered friends on your palm 😇😇