Reply #12: they come closer to you than you realize sometimes [View All]

watch the way they move and then start to look for it, because they have a pattern of movement that is quite distinctive, also there is a sound they make that is sort of like a telegraph or maybe a typewriter, listen for that sound when you see other small birds around and sometimes you'll be surprised to see how close they actually are in a shrub or shorter tree, they aren't always way up there at the top of the tree

i had to train my eyes to see them, but now in winter it's real easyfor me to see them when i go outside in yard or local parks because they are actually common, not shy, and i now know what to look for

i don't know if they prefer to avoid people or honestly if people are (usually) just an irrelevance to them, they are not as obnoxious as hummingbirds about getting in your face but they do have the "small bird" confidence of knowing that they're too tiny to be worth catching and eating :-)