A Bird in the Hand...

I occasionally volunteered as a scribe at the bird banding station at Ruthven Park near Caledonia a few years ago and learned a lot about the migration of local birds. Spring and fall were busy seasons as birds moved north or south through the region. Many passerines are colourful in the spring but lose their mating plumage before autumn. Male Scarlet Tanagers are a stunning red and black in the spring but are barely noticeable later in the year in their drab olive feathers. This pair of male breeding Scarlet Tanagers were retrieved from the mist nets and banded in the month of May. I held them briefly before they were released back to the wild. It would be unnatural for them to land on a human hand willingly.

Black-capped Chickadees are not as flashy as Tanagers but are commonly found year-round in urban spaces in Ontario. They are one of my favourite birds with their bubbly, outgoing personalities. It is easy to entice them to your hand for some seeds and they are guaranteed to brighten your dullest day with their trusting ways. 

They will land anywhere for food, including my husband's head. 

There are other birds that will come to your hand, particularly in the winter when they need more food to keep warm. This White-breasted Nuthatch dropped by unexpectedly while we were feeding Chickadees on a trail in Ottawa.

A female Downy Woodpecker landed on my hand several times as I stood by the Ottawa River. This is the only time a woodpecker has taken seeds from me this way as they are generally shyer than Chickadees.

We drove to Algonquin Park a few winters ago where the Canada Jays are very tame and willing to approach humans for any food at all. They are known to join a picnic lunch if there is a treat to be shared.

The old proverb says, "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush", meaning it is better to hold on to what you have than to take unnecessary risks to pursue greater gains. While there are times to reach for your goals, contentment is a gift in itself. Pearl S. Buck is quoted as saying, "Many people lose the small joys in the hope for the big happiness."

I still enjoy birding and always look for an unusual bird that is not on my list. But it is a good day when a little Chickadee willingly lands on my hand with a cheerful chick-a-dee-dee-dee and accepts a gift of a sunflower seed. In this case, a bird in the hand is definitely better than two in the bush.