Suddenly I saw a large blue colored bird flit down and land in his hand.  The whole thing happened so fast and I was so perplexed by the action that I never even lifted my camera.  Of course I was a twitter with excitement as well as the dog that I thought the bird would just fly away.

There he sat, just a bit out of reach in a bush so my husband handed me a dog treat to see if he would repeat his visit.  Instantly this large, and rather heavy bird I might add, landed in my hand.  Fearing I would chase him off, I slowly and carefully lifted the camera with my free arm and started to shoot.  He really seemed to enjoy the attention.

He stayed with us till the dog cookies ran out which was but a few minutes but that moment will stay with us forever.  His simple visit lifted our hearts and made for one of the best Christmas gifts we received this year.

I now carry a few suet and bird seed balls in one of my many pockets in my coat to hang about the forest when I am out on my walks…just to return the kind gesture.

For some more images of this amazing experience please click and enlarge the flickr slideshow at this link: