It was warm by recent local standards (the weather service web site said 48F (9C) but it didn't feel much over 40; still, 40/5 under a bright blue sky is good for New York in January), so
cattitude and I wandered out into the park, in a low-key sort of way. A short way into the woods, we saw a man with a bird eating out of his hand.
First assumption was chickadee, because they can be lured to do that. But it didn't quite have the chickadee shape.
Our neighbor has befriended a woodpecker. He was taking pictures while it ate from his hand, and was happy to tell us that he has known the bird since 2007, and that he comes to feed her every day from November until May, and then she migrates to Canada for the summer.
The bird comes when he whistles, and eats from his hand, and I am quite prepared to believe that it's the same bird: this is not standard woodpecker behavior. He asked if I had a gmail account, so he could send pictures, and this evening, there they were, 19 still photos, some of them very good, and just under a minute of video. (21 MB, which presumably is why he specifically asked about gmail.)
He seemed nice, a bit older than us I think, not a native English speaker, but he had the English for what he wanted to say here; his name is Young, and I have no idea if we'll run into him again.
After that, we walked a bit more, then came home, and I tried to nap a little. Didn't actually sleep, but it's been a good, restful weekend.
First assumption was chickadee, because they can be lured to do that. But it didn't quite have the chickadee shape.
Our neighbor has befriended a woodpecker. He was taking pictures while it ate from his hand, and was happy to tell us that he has known the bird since 2007, and that he comes to feed her every day from November until May, and then she migrates to Canada for the summer.
The bird comes when he whistles, and eats from his hand, and I am quite prepared to believe that it's the same bird: this is not standard woodpecker behavior. He asked if I had a gmail account, so he could send pictures, and this evening, there they were, 19 still photos, some of them very good, and just under a minute of video. (21 MB, which presumably is why he specifically asked about gmail.)
He seemed nice, a bit older than us I think, not a native English speaker, but he had the English for what he wanted to say here; his name is Young, and I have no idea if we'll run into him again.
After that, we walked a bit more, then came home, and I tried to nap a little. Didn't actually sleep, but it's been a good, restful weekend.
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P.
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What's he feeding him, could you tell? Mine mostly only come to the feeder if there's suet or dehydrated caterpillars.
P.
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Young said I can share these with friends; I've uploaded one to the LJ scrapbook. He sent me another 18 photos, and a short video; this being 2010, the video is 20 MB+, and sitting on my gmail account. (This is not a Pamela-only offer, but I'm not sending them to random strangers either, and 20 MB is still a fair-sized file, though Gmail seems to think this is its purpose in life.)
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It looks gross and greasy, is all I can say. The food, not the bird.
I'd love to see the photos -- I don't do well with video. If you sent them to my gmail address -- pddbster at gmail dot com -- at your convenience, that would be lovely.
P.
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