I had an interesting experience on Friday. During breakfast I noticed
a pine siskin on the feeder, all fluffed up and head buried in
feathers. Hmmm, says I. I spent the day doing yard work and in the
afternoon I noticed a pine siskin on the feeder in a similar posture
as the morning. So being a curious fellow, not content to leave
sleeping birds lie, I walked up to the feeder, put my finger near the
birds feet, it woke up, and perched on my finger (I guess I sort of
encouraged it to). Anyway, I then walked it approx. 20 feet to my
ceder tree, it flew up a couple feet, and then flew out across 2 back
yards. I had thought it might be injured, but it seemed to fly just
fine. Perhaps it had been hand-tamed by a previous bird feeder
(person, not structure). Weird, eh. Just chatting, enjoying the
threads, controversy can be fun. If we all agreed - what a boring
world!

Steve Holzman
holzmans at mail.fws.gov
Portland, Oregon - USA, Earth, Milky Way

My opinions are mine and do not reflect the blah, blah, blah.

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From: Kay Baughman <MKayB at AOL.COM>

Your tame siskin story reminds me of how much I miss feeding winter birds,
watching the feeders from a large window in a warm room, and especially
watching my son (then ten) walk slowly through snow and slowly, slowly, by
stretching his arms toward the feeder and proffering an extended finger,
coaxing the siskins to feed from the palm of one hand while perched on the
fingers of another. That ten-year-old is now far away (today celebrating his
25th birthday) but he still calls to report on the birds he sees (What does
it say about ME when both of my children called long distance from two
different states last mother's day to describe dead warblers they had each
just seen on sidewalks?). I now take walks in 85 degree heat, swatting
mosquitoes all the while, in November to see the birds in our Rio Grande
Valley. Don't get me wrong--I love the Valley. Red-crowned parrots flew
over when I was driving to school this morning, and a Ringed Kingfisher
perched on a wire by the canal down the street, but I do miss the chickadees,
downy wookpeckers, gold finches, juncos, and especially the tame siskins!

Kay Baughman, Harlingen, Texas