This Year's Scrub Jays -- Update 2020-06-30
Shibbergish, Thu Jul 09 2020, 10:46AM
Re: This Year's Scrub Jays -- Update 2020-06-30
Deb Doodah, Thu Jul 09 2020, 02:36PM
Very cool photo!
Re: This Year's Scrub Jays -- Update 2020-06-30
Dave™, Thu Jul 09 2020, 08:05PM
Okay, how do you get them to do that? Sharon's been feeding them religiously every day for years and all they do is squawk at her when she's a little late.
Love the picture though...
Re: This Year's Scrub Jays -- Update 2020-06-30
Shibbergish, Fri Jul 10 2020, 08:20AM
I'm not sure it can happen for anybody with any bird. My wife has a magic empathetic connection with all animals. They all trust her innately.
In the case of the scrub jays, only one adult will allow her to get close. That one will snatch food from her hand, but will not land on her. Nevertheless, the bond of trust is obvious. And I think that is the key. When the parents brought the fledgling around to teach it proper begging technique, the young bird sensed the big, dumb human was not a threat. When it saw both parents tolerate the presence of the big, dumb human and saw the one parent calmly stand eating only a few feet from the big, dumb human, it never developed the usual fear.
Getting the bird to fly to my wife and land on her hand started with her standing quietly, after placing food on the deck railing. Over a period of a couple of weeks, she gradually moved closer, finally leaving one hand on the railing. Once the birds were comfortable with her being so close, she left the food in her hand, with her hand resting on the deck railing. The baby watched its parent take food from the hand and did likewise. Within a few days, the baby would hop up on the hand to grab a tidbit.
The next step was to place the hand, with food on it, a foot away from the railing, then increase the distance, as the baby would fly from the railing to the hand. Eventually, the hand became the place for food, not the railing. The baby now flies to her whenever she goes outside.
I don't know whether it was a factor, but throughout the process, the wife was always whistling, clucking, cooing and talking baby talk to the birds. She still does it, and, strangely enough, they seem to react to it, cocking their heads and listening. She says the baby is making weird noises, never before heard from the scrub jays, whenever she talks to it.
Several years ago another young bird used to fly to my wife and take food from her arm. It could be the current more tolerant parent, so maybe this bird family is predisposed to trust humans.
If you read online, it is not at all uncommon for scrub jays to bond with people and take food from them. A man down the street used to have several of them take food from his hand and one that would land on his shoulder. So, I guess all you need is a willing crop of birds and a great deal of patience.
Shibbergish, Thu Jul 09 2020, 10:46AM
Re: This Year's Scrub Jays -- Update 2020-06-30
Deb Doodah, Thu Jul 09 2020, 02:36PM
Very cool photo!
Re: This Year's Scrub Jays -- Update 2020-06-30
Dave™, Thu Jul 09 2020, 08:05PM
Okay, how do you get them to do that? Sharon's been feeding them religiously every day for years and all they do is squawk at her when she's a little late.
Love the picture though...
Re: This Year's Scrub Jays -- Update 2020-06-30
Shibbergish, Fri Jul 10 2020, 08:20AM
...how do you get them to do that?
I'm not sure it can happen for anybody with any bird. My wife has a magic empathetic connection with all animals. They all trust her innately.
In the case of the scrub jays, only one adult will allow her to get close. That one will snatch food from her hand, but will not land on her. Nevertheless, the bond of trust is obvious. And I think that is the key. When the parents brought the fledgling around to teach it proper begging technique, the young bird sensed the big, dumb human was not a threat. When it saw both parents tolerate the presence of the big, dumb human and saw the one parent calmly stand eating only a few feet from the big, dumb human, it never developed the usual fear.
Getting the bird to fly to my wife and land on her hand started with her standing quietly, after placing food on the deck railing. Over a period of a couple of weeks, she gradually moved closer, finally leaving one hand on the railing. Once the birds were comfortable with her being so close, she left the food in her hand, with her hand resting on the deck railing. The baby watched its parent take food from the hand and did likewise. Within a few days, the baby would hop up on the hand to grab a tidbit.
The next step was to place the hand, with food on it, a foot away from the railing, then increase the distance, as the baby would fly from the railing to the hand. Eventually, the hand became the place for food, not the railing. The baby now flies to her whenever she goes outside.
I don't know whether it was a factor, but throughout the process, the wife was always whistling, clucking, cooing and talking baby talk to the birds. She still does it, and, strangely enough, they seem to react to it, cocking their heads and listening. She says the baby is making weird noises, never before heard from the scrub jays, whenever she talks to it.
Several years ago another young bird used to fly to my wife and take food from her arm. It could be the current more tolerant parent, so maybe this bird family is predisposed to trust humans.
If you read online, it is not at all uncommon for scrub jays to bond with people and take food from them. A man down the street used to have several of them take food from his hand and one that would land on his shoulder. So, I guess all you need is a willing crop of birds and a great deal of patience.
