And talking of confiding birds...

[Morph]

I have recently aquired an old bird book (to go with the many others) by Len Howard called "Birds as Individuals" published in 1952, an absolutly amazing piece of literature about the author and her relationship with the birds in her garden. If I may let me give you a titbit of the opening pages :-

The visiting electrician stopped in amazement before my doorway, watching countless birds flying down from the trees to perch on me. His eyes shone and he kept murmuring : "How wonderful !" then " But why shouldn't it be like that ? it ought to be like that."


The book goes on to tell of how she encouraged them into her house and how quickly they got used to her.
If you wish I could post a few more mind boggling incidents from the text.

[dmclean2]

Hi Morph,
A great story and a good one it's all about trust,
We were over in Jamaica about 3 years ago and went up into the mountains to a bird sanctuary where an old lady had lived and established a zone arround her house where she encouraged Hummingbirds and finches to her feeding stations, she used small miniature whiskey, rum and vodka bottles rinsed out, then filled with sugar water and a small hole peirced in the cap and hung up,
She is no longer with us and died about 15 years ago but one of her helpers, Peter, a Jamaican lad still runs the sanctuary, and takes people arround, he arranges chairs arround the patio which is overhung with lush vegetation,
and gives people a little bottle, then calls out "Here, birdie birdie" and guess what ! heres the result, an Emerald humming bird perched on my wifes finger feeding from the bottle , marvelous sight to see, there must have been 20 plus,
Duncan

[epops]

theres an old childrens newspaper?? article here about len howard http://www.lookandlearn.com/children...520126-001.pdf

[Tursiops2]

I read that book many years ago, when I was about 15 and just starting to get interested in birds and wildlife. You're right morph, it's a wonderful book and one of the sparks that lit my interest in wildlife gardening. I'd almost forgotten it, thanks for bringing back memories
T2

[Morph]

Originally Posted by dmclean2

Hi Morph,
A great story and a good one it's all about trust,
We were over in Jamaica about 3 years ago and went up into the mountains to a bird sanctuary where an old lady had lived and established a zone arround her house where she encouraged Hummingbirds and finches to her feeding stations, she used small miniature whiskey, rum and vodka bottles rinsed out, then filled with sugar water and a small hole peirced in the cap and hung up,
She is no longer with us and died about 15 years ago but one of her helpers, Peter, a Jamaican lad still runs the sanctuary, and takes people arround, he arranges chairs arround the patio which is overhung with lush vegetation,
and gives people a little bottle, then calls out "Here, birdie birdie" and guess what ! heres the result, an Emerald humming bird perched on my wifes finger feeding from the bottle , marvelous sight to see, there must have been 20 plus,
Duncan

That must have been an amazing and exhilarating experience. The wife and I are planning a trip to Trinidad to a reserve that does something very similar apparently.

[Bwrack]

Went to a beautiful boarding house near Sonora in California in May this year..the house backed onto dense forest which was full of birds, but, on the veranda they had a load of humming bird drinking stations (all red coloured which attracts the birds) and sitting within arms length of these stations amd watching these most attactive of birds such as Anna's and Roufus humming birds , hovering, flying backwards and the sound of the wings convinced me they were not birds at all, but fairies in disguise !

[Morph]

Another little snipet :-

"There are great difficulties in living with birds as I do, such as cleaning up and the disturbance of sleep, for they hammer furiously on the panes if I shut the windows at dawn to keep them outside.
Most mornings recently I have been awakened at 5.00 o'clock by a Great Tit making agitated flights to and fro from my bed to the window while uttering loud alarm cries. He is telling me to come out quickly, the Magpie is endangering his young, so I leap from my bed and chase this enemy off. I return to bed but soon the Blackbird calls me up with agitated "tchinks" close to my window, and again I go out to frighten away the cat."

When I first started reading this book I thought it was a work of fiction, all Enid Blyton and jolly hockey sticks. But the foreword is by Sir Julian Huxley M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S. who states :-
"Miss Howard will not expect professional biologists to accept all her conclusions. But they will be grateful for her facts."

[Hedge Witch]

Interesting book - I'd love to know her secret.

Mmmm, I bet she didn't own a cat. No chance for me then

[Morph]

Yet More :-

They do all they can to hinder any work, - while I am trying to type this page, some are perching on the typwriter, some are pulling my hair, others flying to my hands. There is one other person knows how demanding my Great Tits can be. Old Harry who, like me loves all wild creatures. He lives alone in a hut in a spinney 10mins walk from my cottage. One of my Great Tits was crowded out of my garden this year so nested in his spinney. She used to fly back to me every morning and evening demanding food. Then this kind old man, who feeds the birds became victim of her imperious ways. "Proper tart, she is" said Harry; "she calls me up at dawn tugging at the blankets and pecking at my face. You can't stop her and you've got to give her all she wants and quickly too." I knew at once from his discription which bird it was, for this was exactly how the little tart had always treated me.

[gillwrig]

How cool - although whether the husband would put up with me encouraging the birds into the house is anyone's guess.

What happened to her?