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"Tree-Taming" for woodpeckers and nuthatches

You wear a vest of tree bark and the bird lands on it
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Some birds (e.g. chickadees, titmice, house sparrows) can be coaxed to land on your hand if you hold out seeds. Woodpeckers and nuthatches rarely come, not because they aren't tameable, but because they are just not comfortable landing on a flat surface. They prefer to be vertical.

So I propose a vest made of tree bark which you can wear, perhaps smear some peaut butter and seeds on it, and stand in front of a woodpecker or nuthatch. If it's tame, it can cling vertically to your chest and enjoy its meal in the position it prefers. Meanwhile you can also be using your outstretched hand to feed any chickadees or titmice in the area.

phundug, Feb 06 2012

Right between the eyes http://earthfirst.c...hummingbird-feeder/
[2 fries shy of a happy meal, Feb 07 2012]

Christmas_20Robin_20Attracting_20Beret reminds me of my own idea of a few years ago (shameless self promotion) [xenzag, Feb 08 2012]

[link]






       Anyone else see a problem with encouraging a bird that typically uses it's sharp beak to punch through bark and the wood beneath to land on a layer of bark with you beneath?
MechE, Feb 06 2012
  

       A vest when a codpiece would do.
rcarty, Feb 06 2012
  

       [MechE]Perhaps the bark material should secrete a small amount of tattoo ink?
hippo, Feb 06 2012
  

       I was thinking the same thing as MechE. That sounds either foolhardy or masochist. o.O
Psalm_97, Feb 06 2012
  

       I think this is an excellent idea.
MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 06 2012
  

       Another situation for the "*You* do it, I have the camera" line.
lurch, Feb 06 2012
  

       We're not talking about a Pileated woodpecker here, just a little downy or red-bellied. The vest is made from real bark some kind of padding protection under it.
phundug, Feb 06 2012
  

       How would you keep the pixelated... I mean pileated woodpeckers off while still attracting the downy or red-bellied?
Psalm_97, Feb 06 2012
  

       //How would you keep the pixelated... I mean pileated woodpeckers off while still attracting the downy or red-bellied?//   

       Shotgun.   

       Maybe automated using light sensors to detect colour and sets of weighing scales for comparing to average weights of the birds. Then a complicated system of levers, ropes, pulleys, cannon balls and candles would be employed to track the gun towards the bird and pull the trigger.
TomP, Feb 06 2012
  

       What a wonderful idea.
blissmiss, Feb 06 2012
  

       I'm bunning for the sweet thought...disregarding any impractical aspects!
xandram, Feb 07 2012
  

       //Shotgun// That's my point. The shotgun would scare away the other kinds of woodpecker you're trying to attract. I can't see any way to scare off the pileated woodpeckers without also alarming the others.
Psalm_97, Feb 07 2012
  

       Very good. It reminds me of a similar bird watching device. [link]   

       With his stance on cats, I wonder if [8th] would be pro-bird or anti.
RayfordSteele, Feb 07 2012
  

       My beloved arch-enemy is generally a proponent of anything that can be shot at with a 12-guage, so in that sense, I think it's safe to say that [8th] is probably pro- bird.   

       Hummingbirds can also be coaxed to sit on your fingers. I did it by hanging a feeder with perches outside the window for a couple of weeks, then removing the perches and holding my finger out instead. After a few hours, they were fine with my presence. I also found that they will lick sugar-water off of your fingers--a surreal experience.   

       Hummingbird-taming takes a lot of patience, which is easier to come by when you're recovering from a motorcycle crash.
Alterother, Feb 07 2012
  

       Motorcycle crashes make you patient? This changes everything! I gotta get me a donorcycle pronto.
mouseposture, Feb 08 2012
  

       They don't really teach you patience so much as force it on you--you can cry and scream all you like, but you're just not going anywhere for a while. Thus, hummingbird-taming and similar stationary diversions. I also wrote an interpretive thesis on _Catch 22_. For fun.
Alterother, Feb 08 2012
  

       This is turning into a one-person bird feeding station! Bark vest, sunflower seeds in hand, hummingbird feeder helmet -- you could also put thistle inside your socks/stockings for goldfinches and hang a suet pinecone from your shoulders :)
phundug, Feb 08 2012
  

       Any nuts for the squirrels?
AusCan531, Feb 08 2012
  

       Oh we have plenty of nuts around here. Don't worry about that part.
Psalm_97, Feb 09 2012
  

       ... and there's always room for one more.
po, Feb 09 2012
  

       Thus my recent appearance here. :-)
Psalm_97, Feb 09 2012
  
      
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