Close Encounters of the Bird Kind...

As a field biologist I have had the privilege of engaging many birds on a close and personal level while studying them. Last week, while on the boat out at sea in a random event, I got to hold one of my favorite birds in the world, the Dovekie!! What has always amazed me is just how different certain birds behave in the hand, and at times I feel that it gives a certain insight into the bird's demeanor. This kind of talk is difficult as it relies on a certain amount of anthropomorphizing of these wild creatures, but that's how we understand certain things outside of our realm, we compare them to our own realities.

One of my favorite species of bird to encounter in the hand is the Wilson's Warbler. Almost without fail, the Wilson's Warbler is beyond calm as they are removed from the net, and seem to have an amazing patience while being poked, prodded and measured. In their preferred habitat however, they are quick to scold, skulky and difficult to approach.

There seems to be little correlation that I can find as to how birds behave in the hand, and what they do in the wild. While it's true that all birds are relatively high strung when compared to humans, and most birds in the hand behave as they should when a predator has them in their grips, sometimes birds will surprise you and make you question what you thought you knew.

While in the Gulf during the BP Oil Disaster people that I spoke with who had rescued Brown Pelicans time and again reiterated something that I had heard about Pelicans previously. While they are difficult to capture initially, once in the hand, it's as if they know you are there to help. Maybe their calmness is a way of preserving energy and can be explained in purely scientific terms as a means of self preservation, but when you are holding a bird and open to certain emotions and feelings, sometimes it just feels like the bird knows that you aren't there to harm them.

The first Saw-whet Owl that I banded at the Idaho Bird Observatory in 1997 did something that I will never forget. After taking all of its measurements and weighing it, I went out into the dark, Idaho night to release it. As I opened my hands to let it go, it perched on my hand, and then flew onto my shoulder. I walked back over to the banding shed, where they were still processing another owl, while the Saw-whet remained on my shoulder. It stayed there, alert, and constantly moving its head and looking around, and seemingly unafraid of me as I checked it out, eye to eye. As they finished up the other owl and released it, the owl on my shoulder flew off into a nearby Douglas Fir with the other bird and let out a little chirp. It was as if the owl on my shoulder was just waiting for its companion.


Back to the Dovekie. We had finished up working for the night, and had actually already eaten dinner and the other deckhand was out on deck having a cigarette. He said that he turned around, and a Dovekie was sitting on the banding table. He opened the door and yelled in, "Hey Drew, I've got one of your birds out here." I was thinking that maybe a Gull was on the boat, or something, and he said, " no, it's one of your little penguin-like guys," and I ran out there to check it out. Sure enough, Mike, the big, gruff fisherman was cradling a little Dovekie in his arms like a baby. He handed him over to me, and immediately I could sense the bird's distress. It did not want to be held, and it was constantly struggling, and I knew I had to release it as soon as possible. I felt the bird's sternum, and checked its short, sturdy wings for injury, and finding nothing walked over to the rail and opened my hands, and it flew off into the night. I didn't even get a photo!

While handling birds can be amazing, it is a privilege that should be practiced with the utmost caution and only when a very specific, scientifically meaningful and conservation based reason has been established. The experience of holding a cuddly bird in the hand is uniquely amazing, and can be a life changing and eye opening event. In my opinion there is a lot of unnecessary handling of birds that happens simply because people enjoy holding soft, colorful and vibrant little birdies.