Festive Birdies

Hello Everyone!

Today I'm sharing a Christmas card featuring the newest Pion Design collection "Christmas Wishes". These darling water colour bird images have completely captured my heart! Aren't they just so perfect for a holiday card!

Pion products:

Christmas Wishes - December Birds PD9805

Christmas Wishes - Christmas Morning PD9802

Christmas Wishes - Santa's Friends PD9806

Images from the Past - Christmas Wishes PD1631

The Snowflakes are from Penny Black, the flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts and everything else is from my stash. For the snow, I wanted something that had texture but wasn't shiny, so I applied the DecoArt Snow Writer and then covered it with Stampendous Chunky Embossing Powder in white!

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I get a lot of questions about feeding the birds from my hand, so I thought today I would try to answer some of them for you.

1- In my experience Red Breasted Nuthatches are the most trusting, if you have any of those in your area, it's a great way to experience this amazing trust. Just stand very still and hold your arm out to them. It may take a few tries until they learn that you aren't a threat, but they'll come eventually. And once they trust you, they'll be all over you! They sit on my shoulders and even my head!!

2- Next up are Chickadees. They take a little longer to warm up to you, but once they do it is an amazing experience. They will sit on your hand for quite some time, so be prepared to wait. They will often sing at you and check you out up and down. I even had a baby Chickadee this year that flew onto my hand and then had a litte nap. Dang my arm was sore by the time he woke up and flew off!

3- The larger birds are more difficult, they take a lot of time to trust you, if ever. Cardinals, Blue Jays, Starlings and Blackbirds are very cautious and scare very easily. Even though I feed many of them from my hand, I rarely take a photo of it, for the same reason I would never use a flash on a wild animal. No sudden movements, no loud noises. I have managed a few shots in special cases when they were used to the camera shutter sound.

This is a shot of a Blackbird, see the difference in size!

An here is a Starling...

I have fed other wild animals by hand as well, but no photos for the same reason as the birds. Deer, rabbits and raccoons, these animals are especially timid and can injure themselves if you spook them. I do have this one shot of Big Kate taking a cookie from me. Again, she was a special case because she was used to the sound of the camera and of me being close to her.

And of course, there are my squirrels. Believe it or not, I do NOT encourage the squirrels to eat from my hand. Not all humans are friendly, so it is very dangerous for these animals to think that an outstretched hand is a sign of good will. I only feed the ones who initiate contact, I never force the issue. Again, I don't often photograph them when they're this close, but there are a few exceptions.

Miss Chrissy

And of course, the sweetest squirrel in the world, Crazy Karen!! 

This photo was taken just a couple of days ago. Doesn't she look amazing after her hard summer!

Well I hope that I have answered some of your questions. That's it for today. Thank you for stopping in and for all the amazing comments. If you have any other questions, please let me know!

DISCLAIMER:

I do NOT recommend you feed any wild ground animals by hand. It's really bad for them and it can be dangerous for you. I've been doing some training, and I have some experience now. Eventually I will be getting my Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation licence, so I will be handling these animals daily for life-saving measures. 

The food you see in the photos I post are NOT proper foods for animals! Peanuts, cookies and bread are junk food to these animals and are harmful in large quantities. I also make sure they get plenty of proper healthy foods on top of the treats I use for photo shoots. Here is a quick list for anyone who is interested (not a full list of course).

Songbirds - Black oil sunflower seeds, Mixed birdseed, Unsalted Peanuts, Suet, Mealworms and Safflower seeds. NO RAW RICE, NO BREAD, NO SUGAR, NO SALT, NO HONEY!

Ducks & Geese - Cracked Corn, Frozen Peas and Corn (not canned), Wheat, Barley, Oats, Birdseed, Grapes, Mealworms, Salad Greens, Duck Pellets. NO BREAD, NO JUNKFOOD, NO CEREAL, NO CRACKERS!!

Squirrels - Coconut, Unsalted Nuts (Walnuts, Pecans, Hazlenuts, etc.) easy on the Almonds. Watermelon, Apples, Strawberries, Grapes, Avocados, Squash, etc. Any sort of deer antler treat. NO CORN, NO PEANUTS, NO SUNFLOWER SEEDS, NO LEGUMES!!

Rabbits - Collard greens, Carrot and Beet Greens, Romaine, Red or Green leaf  Lettuce, Spinach, Parsley. NO POTATOES, NO ICEBERG LETTUCE OR LIGHT GREENS. Contrary to popular believe, carrots are neither a favourite of rabbits, nor are they good for them!