>The story of the Black-capped Chickadee reminds me of something I once saw
>in Calgary. Under trees in a park to the south of the city I came across a
>man and his son feeding birds. It didn't suprise me when a Black-capped
>came and ate from the boy's outstretched hand. What did amaze me was the
>Red-breasted Nuthatch that did the same thing. I've always considered these
>to be fairly wary of humans.
>
>I'll mention that while I watched this episode through by binoculars another
>Black-capped choose to perch on these.
>
>Eric Greenwood

Of course, you don't all have to stampede to Calgary to see this; other
Canadian chickadees are just as confiding. At Reifel Refuge, near Ladner,
BC, Black-capped Chickadees throng around anyone who carries a pocketful of
sunflower seeds out on the dike trail. It's great fun, and I guess it
isn't interfering with nature *too* much. People have told me that at
times Red-breasted Nuthatches do the same, but it's never happened to me.
It's also a wonderful place to observe sparrows in winter, as the refuge
people scatter seeds all along the trail, as well as in feeders. Best to
go on a weekday if you can, or at least as early in the day as you can, as
it gets pretty crowded on weekends.

My best close encounter was in my own yard, when I coaxed a Chestnut-backed
Chickadee out of the bushes to take sunflower seeds from my hand. It took
a long time of standing still with my hand up, but my smile was a mile wide
when it landed. I've never been able to duplicate it since.

And I've always had the fantasy of a pet Red-breasted Nuthatch hitching
around on me and taking sunflower seeds from various pockets (removal of
ectoparasites would be a side benefit).

Dennis Paulson, Director phone: (206) 756-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax: (206) 756-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail: dpaulson at ups.edu
Tacoma, WA 98416