Hand-fed Grosbeak

Day 245: Although they have so far been reluctant to come to my left hand when I have the point-and-shoot camera in my right, several Evening Grosbeaks (both males and females) have accepted seed either by remaining perched on the tray of the feeder while picking it up from my palm, or allowing me to lift them onto my fingers and down to a position which doesn't tax my shoulder muscles. One female may have imprinted on me as the Bringer of Food. She followed me across the road to the mailbox and back again, taking sunflower seeds from my hand for several minutes as I stood in the yard. This is a privilege few people experience. It's one thing to have a Canada Jay steal crackers during a hiking rest break, and a step up from that, to have Chickadees accept your offerings. To have a species less acclimatized to humans eat from your hand (and more than one individual!)...well, that's like finding a rare orchid in the Back of Beyond.