Taming Black-capped Chickadees To Eat From Your Hand

Have you ever had the thrill of having a wild bird eat from your hand? I have had birds eat seed and peanuts from my hand several times over the last few years.

Black-capped Chickadees are great little birds and also one of the easiest birds to hand tame.

• Take your bird feeders down to fill them on a cold morning.


• While they are down, walk over to a tree or shrub that Chickadees perching in.


• Have your hand filled with some black oil Sunflower Seeds or peanuts.


• Hold your palm out extending your arm away from your body but close to the tree/bush.


• Look away from your hand and try not to move or breath heavy.


• If you are near some Chickadees, you should get a quick response. They usually start by taking a close look and making scolding sounds. Sometimes, they will make a quick test flight over your hand to check things out. If there are several Chickadees your odds are even better for success.

It's really get to hear the vocalizations of the Chickadee as they contemplate whether or not to take their chances. The sound of their wings fluttering is surprising loud when you are that close to them . It is a strange feeling when they perch on one of your fingers to grab a seed. You can feel the actual grip of their toes hanging on.

I only do this a couple of times a year because I'm not sure if it's a good idea to have the birds become too tame. Anyhow, that's my own twist on how to do it. Other birds may take food from your hand too such as Titmice or Nuthatches. One warning make sure you don't scare your neighbors. One of my neighbors was getting ready to call 911 after they saw me standing like a statue for ten minutes in the middle of winter.

Cold Wind Blowin' Down The Railroad Tracks

The wind was howling on this cold winter morning but at least the sun was shining. It was one of those days that I could have just as easily stayed home, but I getting outdoors on the weekend is a priority for me.

I decided to take a walk along the abandoned railroad tracks that lead to Pratt & Whitney in Middletown CT. The tracks follow a portion of the CT. River through a marshy section complete with beaver huts. There is a trail directly along the river once you pass the marsh.

I was a tad bit nervous crossing the trestle. Did you ever see a calf get up and walk for the first time? That's how I felt going across the railroad trestle which was covered with ice and had a few broken ties.

After I crossed the trestle, I started to hear sparrows making little chip notes on both sides of me. There were dozens of AMERICAN TREE SPARROW and WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS in the thickets along the side.There was also a few SONG SPARROWS.

As I entered the trail along the river, I saw a large flock of MALLARDS take off. There was a few COMMON MERGANSERS and HOODED MERGANSER near the shoreline. Two RED-TAILED HAWKS put on a nice aerial display. One BALD EAGLE could be seen flying very high overhead. The big surprise of the day was a female YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER which are somewhat uncommon around these parts. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a very good picture of it.

Other than that, I did not see a lot of birds. Other species included:RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER, AMERICAN CROW, RING-BILLED GULL, NORTHERN FLICKER, CAROLINA WREN, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE, AMERICAN ROBIN, TUFTED TITMOUSE, and BLUE JAY. I was a lot warmer and had much better balance crossing the trestle on the way back. Not a bad day after all.

Birding at Rocky Hill Meadows in Rocky Hill Connecticut

I'm going to start by mentioning a place that was new to me this year. It is known by many, but not considered one of Connecticut's top hot spots. One of the main attractions at Rocky Hill Meadows is being able to see a variety of shore birds at an inland location. I just started to learn some shorebirds this year, and was really excited at some of the birds I was able to see at these meadows. There were several species of Sandpiper including Baird's , Buff-breasted, Semipalmated and Pectoral.

On one rainy afternoon we saw an American Golden Plover, along with dozens of Yellowlegs wading in the puddles. There were also Short-billed Dowitchers sighted here.

If you watch the CT. rare bird alert :http://www.virtualbirder.com/bmail/ctbird/index.html during the summer it will help you determine when certain birds are showing up . I had most of my success during the month of September. Weather conditions also play a factor when searching for migrating shorebirds, but that is a little beyond my knowledge at this point. I just know I had better luck after heavy rain. Maybe someone with more information on this subject can contribute some information.

Anyhow, if you've never been to Rocky Hill Meadows you might want to give it a try. It is located at the Rocky Hill Ferry Landing-(route 99 to Route 160). When you arrive at the ferry parking area , drive through the gated entrance to left .This will bring you to a series of fields. The area is actively farmed , so you must be prepared to give tractors the right of way. There are also no trespassing signs posted in some locations.-good luck!

Eagle Festival In Essex Connecticut Draws A Big Crowd

I decided to check out the Eagle Festival for the first time this year. I arrived at about 10:30am. It was only about 30 degrees but lots of sunshine with minimal wind made for a nice winter morning. I decided to skip the cruise and save it for another weekend. It was a little too crowded for my taste.

One of the reasons I went was to try out some of the binoculars they had in the optics tents. I currently use Swift Ultra-Lite 8x42 roof prism binoculars. I have no major complaints with these binoculars. They have all the features I am looking for and include a lifetime warranty.
If I were to buy new binoculars, they would have to offer me a view that was clearly better than the ones I own now.

I looked through several of the top of the line roof prism binoculars. The only one that really impressed me were the Swarovski 8.5 x 42's. The Leica's didn't seem to fit my eyes comfortably. I did not like the view through 8x 32's as well as the the 42's. I would have liked to try out the best that Zeiss, Bushnell, and Nikon had to offer but unfortunately none of the dealers brought those models along. The dealer at Fat Robin said he would have brought those models had he known the weather was going to be so good.

I didn't spend a lot of time at the festival. It was interesting to come across so many people who had never seen eagles before. My brother-in-law Al and I enjoyed helping people locate BALD EAGLES . We saw about ten in the area while we were there. I also saw a NORTHERN HARRIER and a RED-TAILED HAWK fly by.