HIS relatives are known for being shy and timid but one little bird has plucked up the courage to make an unusual friend.

HIS relatives are known for being shy and timid but one little bird has plucked up the courage to make an unusual friend.

Battling robins and blackbirds, a small Wren has bravely muscled his way to the front of the queue at feeding time in one Suffolk garden and now even makes his own requests.

Lea Blackham, who lives in Polstead, has been hand-feeding the bird meal worms and other treats for the last few weeks.

The retired 58-year-old said his new visitor even lets out a loud alarm call by his kitchen window when he is hungry and wants attention.

“It is very unusual for a wren to be so tame,” he said. “They are quite shy birds but this little fellow is certainly very brave, eating out of my hand and even calling me when he is really hungry.”

At the start of the cold wintry weather Mr Blackham and his wife started putting out meal worms for birds in their garden.

They noticed the usual robins and blackbirds popping in to feast on the tasty treats, but they were taken aback when they realised the same wren kept coming back and with each visit was getting more courageous.

“I would be quite close to the feeding table and he was the only bird that would come close when I was around,” Mr Blackham added. “The next day I tried putting the worms in my hands and he jumped right on and took them.

“For the last two or three weeks he has been coming back, if anyone else is around he isn't quite as brave.”

The little visitor appears to be picky when it comes to who he allows to feed him. Mr Blackham said the bird would only appear when he is around.

“My wife tried to feed him too but he wouldn't take it from her, it seems to be just me,” he said.

Mr Blackham is no stranger to caring for wild birds in his garden. For the last few years he has been feeding a pair of barn owls on his land, setting up breeding boxes to encourage them to set up home.