Watching birds visit your garden flying to and fro as they visit your bird feeders can be a joy. But for a truly rewarding experience that can make you feel really close to nature there is something special about having a wild bird feed from your hand.
Hand-feeding birds can be a wonderful way of building a connection with the wild birds in your garden and can improve people’s mental health and even combat loneliness.
Before we consider your safety, we need to think about the safety of birds. Hand feeding wild birds can be seen as controversial as some consider it will cause them to lose their fear of humans. However, birds that you hand feed won’t lose their fear of humans, they’ll only lose their fear of you. Just because a bird comes to your hand doesn’t mean it will come to anyone else’s because it knows and trusts only you. If fact, a bird that is not fearful of you is less likely to be startled if you go near it in your garden and won’t take evasive action which could send it into the mouth of a real predator.
Birds do carry disease and some of these can be harmful to humans. But just as you should practice good hygiene after refilling bird feeders, as long as you wash your hands thoroughly after feeding a bird from your hand the chances of you catching something is negligible.
Even though birds are very small and light they do have sharp claws so it’s possible they could scratch you with their feet. When they land on your hand, they will spread out their feet trying to find something to grip on to and could give you a nick, so keep your hand very still. You may want to try spreading your hand so they can land on a finger which mimics a branch and may be easier for them to hold on to.
If you’re concerned about a bird hurting your hand then you could wear a pair of gloves. A thin pair is best so you can still feel the touch of the bird’s feet and remain sensitive to the movements they are making.
Don’t try and feed fledgling birds from your hand – they need to learn to fend for themselves in the wild. If you do succeed in getting a bird to feed from your hand allow it to continue to feed elsewhere. It shouldn’t rely on you solely for food so don’t feed it every day or change the times you feed it. And don’t try and tame it or bring it into the house. If you feel a bird is getting to attached to you then stop feeding it.
Remember it is illegal to keep any wild bird as a pet. If you want to hand-rear and keep a wild bird that you think could not survive in the wild, then you must consult a vet and be able to prove that it is unfit for release.
If you’re lucky, you might only have to stand in the garden with your hand held out offering some food once to have a curious bird land on it. For most of us though, getting a bird to feed from the hand can be a challenge and something that takes a little time.
For birds to feed from your hand they need to know that your garden provides a good source of food and that it is a safe environment. Start by creating a bird friendly garden with a good selection of bird feeders and ensure there are no cats about or other animals that could scare them away.
If you already have birds regularly visiting your bird feeders try standing nearby so they get used to you. Visit at the same time each day; early morning is best as that’s when birds are most active feeding and you’ll start to become part of their daily routine
At first, they’ll probably fly away if you get too close but over time as they realise you aren’t a threat and even understand that you’re the provider of their food, they’ll start to feel comfortable enough to stay at the feeders as you watch.
Keep still and don’t make any sudden movements. As they begin to get comfortable with you close by, you could try speaking softly so they get used to your voice.
Giving birds the confidence to stay around while you are near may take days or even weeks. When they stay at your bird feeders no matter how close you are to them, you’ll know you have gained their trust enough to start trying to feed them directly.
Getting birds to feed directly from your hand can be a difficult next step. Birds must come very close to land on your hand and even though they may be ok with you standing nearby they may not feel confident enough to fly towards you and land on you.
You could start off by offering some food on a chopping board that held out at arm’s length. Landing on the wooden surface may feel more natural to birds to begin with and they don’t need to get quite as near to you.
Put some of their favourite foods on to the board and hold it out for them. Chop up the food into small pieces and place it around the edges of the board so they can quickly pick it up and fly away again if they don’t want to stay on the board. Again, keep quiet and still and try and visit at the same time of day so they get used to your presence.
You could also try holding a hanging feeder from your hand. Your birds are already used to feeding from bird feeders, so this is a simple way of gaining their trust.
Once birds have started feeding from the board or feeder you could try holding out your other hand filled with some food. Eventually you can try removing the board or feeder altogether. If they still don’t come to your hand, try again with board or the feeder giving them more time to feel comfortable being close to you as they feed. Again, this step may take a few days or weeks.
In theory any bird that feeds in your garden could feed from your hand, but some species are more likely to do so.
Robins are friendly birds and will often follow gardeners around as they dig for garden looking for worms from the overturned soil, so are already comfortable being close to humans.
Other species of birds that often feed from the hand are blue tits, coal tits, dunnocks, sparrows, and nuthatches.
