Twilight Zone

Weird Haps at casa de Whisner. So...I put up these bird feeders. These feeders are for finches. They are filled with Nyjar seed. It is this small black seed that Finches think is like McDonalds fast food. It is fun to have the birds visit. The dogs chase them and I like to know that I'm making little birds fat.

Finches by nature are pretty skittish creatures. Sometimes they'll all be eatting (dozons of them on 3 feeders) and I'll walk out on the deck (more than 50 feet from where they are) and they will take to the air as if a bomb has just gone off. It probably doesn't help that the dogs go running and barking at the trees for the shear joy of watching the birds scatter, but what the heck, after all the McDonalds food, its good to get some exercise.

Today I'm refilling one of the feeders. I get the feeder about half full with the rest of the seed I have and am hanging it up (dogs are at my feet) and just as I get the feeder in place (my hand still fastening it to the tree), a finch comes down and lands not two inches from my nose. I yell and back up (as I don't know what is happening) and the darn bird stares at me and proceeds to eat seed. I'm astonished! Astounded! Delighted! Weirded out! Worried! then just Interested. The little creature stares at me, grabs a seed eats it, stares at me, eats another stares at me. All this time, my face is inches from this bird (where's a camera when you need one for crying out loud!). So I put my hand up and the little finch pushes my hand with its head (I can see it thinking, "leave me alone duffus! I'm trying to eat something before the hoard comes back"). Finally after about 5 minutes, it flys to the apple tree and sits there. I went and grabbed the camera and took a pic of it napping in the apple tree.

I am afraid it was sick in some way. It certainly wasn't afraid of me...so maybe it just has good judgement :)

It is still in the apple tree sleeping as I write this. Tomorrow there will be dozens of birds again and I won't know which one was my special bird. I sure hope it is not injured and just a trusting bird.

Later I asked Fin what she thought of the friendly bird and she stuck her tongue out at me. I guess that in itself is a comment on this unusual day.