local friends

on a not too hot or humid morning, i just adore sitting, coffee in hand, on our tiny deck. i have 2 bird feeders just at the deck railing, one with niger seed for the finches, titmice and chickadees. the other feeder is much larger to hold prime, select, shelled, expensive stuff to attract them all. i really want cardinals, which are regularly around, but dont want to alight on the feeder.

the feeders are about 4 feet from me. and if i sit quietly the birdies will come. generally they dont hang with me. some species are bold and will come, grab a seed and leave...like chickadees and titmice. even a nuthatch might decide to grab a bite. in contrast goldfinches wont come if they see me...i guess its because they are yellow.

but this morning i entertained a young finch, too naive about the world to fear me. i could tell it was young, just looked a bit goofy, hair not combed, gawky movements. he (couldnt tell really) kept coming, finally perched and watched me back. those rapid head tilts, checking me out. after a while he flew down to a porthole on the big feeder. i sat gently drinking my coffee, not stone still, just relaxed. he grabbed a peanut and paused. unlike the others that "run and eat", he stayed perched and just chomped away. then chose another morsel (there are a variety of seeds and nuts in this gourmet mix) and stayed some more.

i loved it. he probably caught hell when he told his folks back at the nest about his audacious

adventure. but maybe he will turn up again tomorrow morning.