First Titmouse Hand Feeder Of The Season

For the last couple of weeks when I put food out in the afternoon, I’ve been taking down the feeders and just standing near the feeder station. I started out about six feet away and would gradually and slowly move closer to the station. My goal: to see how close I could get before the birds would stop landing on the feeder station arms and then feeding. I found I was able to get to about three feet before activity moved away. Keep in mind, I was not taking down all feeders which can be necessary sometimes to start with. From that point on, I would take down the feeders and stand there with sunflower seeds in one hand. It’s important to be very still and not make eye contact with anybody at first. What I’ve seen for the last week or so is the chickadees would continue feeding but most would go to other feeders. The titmice, however, would mostly keep coming to the feeder but not take me up on my offering.

Then, I remembered what the Hand Feeding Backyard Birds guide said about offering something they really like and don’t get all the time. Yesterday, I bought some hulled peanuts at Petsmart while getting food for Maggie. This turned out to be THE difference.

Let The Hand Feeding Begin

Yesterday afternoon, I did the same thing I had been doing for over a week. Before filling the feeders I would take them down and put them at my feet. But yesterday I stood there stock-still with peanuts. It wasn’t a couple of minutes before I heard the familiar squeaky call of the titmice as they examined the situation. The difference this time is that this brave little guy or girl landed on the feeder arm, looked at me, fussed at me and then made a quick, darting landing attempt on my outstretched hand. I know we both scared each other and he flew back into the tree. I stayed still and waited. A couple minutes later they were back and determined to try again. This time, they grabbed one of my fingers to steady themselves, made a quick grab and were gone. This was very encouraging to me but I wanted to try one more time. I wanted to see if they would land and stay for a few seconds before flying off.

As if hearing my thoughts, a few minutes later I got my wish. I’m not sure but I think it was probably the same one because that’s usually how this starts. One brave soul does it and then others can’t stand to be left out. At any rate, they landed on the feeder arm, called at me and within a couple seconds they lighted on my hand, looked for the perfect peanut, discarded one of them and got what they came for and left. I was thrilled and can’t wait to see where it goes from here.

Look for me to record and release a YouTube video soon of these guys hand feeding from me.

Hand Feeding Success Tips

Here’s a short list of the basic elements you’ll need to have success hand feeding.

• Chickadees or Titmice-I’m not saying you won’t get others to hand feed but these two are going to give you the quickest success.
• Food That’s A Treat-Feeding something they don’t get everyday that they love will get you there quicker. Most field guides will help here as well as forums. Otherwise, they wonder why take a risk for the same food.
• Routine-Doing something everyday that they can become accustomed to will increase your chances of success
• Patience-With a capital “P.” You’ve got to be willing to stand still for a long time. Sometimes it will happen sooner and sometimes much later. You’ve also got to be willing to keep your eyes open and change your plan if they are spooked.

Have you had success this year hand feeding your backyard birds? Let us know what you did and how it worked for you.

Footnote: The Power of Routine

I’ve noticed over my nearly nine years of feeding that birds can be trained when to eat. I used to put a sunflower chip chickadee feeder out only in the evening because the squirrels would get it if it were out all day. To this day, the chickadees and titmice will check in the evening to see if it’s there. Yes, they will feed from it a few times during the day if it is left out but they really look for it in the late afternoon/early evening. They can also get used to a routine such as my feeding schedule and this is exactly what has happened here. The feeder activity picks up when I feed them. That’s just common sense. However, what I’ve noticed is it will pick up at about the same time even BEFORE I refill the feeders if there’s still something left in them. This tells me they’re learning a schedule.