Latest from Book of Birds: “A Cardinal in Hand Is Worth Two in the Bush”

Near where I grew up in Ohio there was a nature center where you could buy a small bag of seeds, pour a few in your palm, and wait for Black-Capped Chickadees and Tufted Titmice to land and eat them right out of your hand. All you hadta do was stand there and hold your arm out. They’d scout you out for a minute from the nearby bushes and trees, determine you were as safe as a birdfeeder, and then fly in and snag a seed with their bill. You could actually feel their tiny feet against your thumb, and it like you were making contact with a small miracle.