ST. PAUL - Twelve-year-old Brody Lilje has shown an interest in birds for a few years now.
According to his mom, Lindsay, her youngest son inherited a love of birds from her dad, who has now passed on. Brody inherited his grandfather's bird books, and the young birder has been keeping feeders for the birds for the past few years at his home in the Bosombe area.
Recently though, he's decided to take his interest a step further and has been working at gaining the some of the birds' trust with the hope of having them eat seeds right out of his hands. First, Brody took down the feeders and then he started offering up sunflower seeds to the birds - a favourite for the many chickdees in the Lilje yard.
With a little patience, Brody has been able to do exactly what he set out to do, and his mom has recorded moments where her son is sitting happily - and quietly - in a lawn chair, with birds sitting on his head and eating from his hands - even in the recent -30C weather.
"Now they know him and get really excited when he goes out and (they) flock around him," says Linsday.
Brody has had quite a bit of success attracting birds to the yard, and his mom says her son often worries about the birds and is keen on keeping them well fed.
"He has Nuthatches, Blue jays, Downy woodpecker and Hairy woodpeckers. We’ve also spotted Pine Grosbeaks. He’s hoping someday to get the other birds to come to him too," says Linsday.
