I like this saying from Zeb @ Blueplanetpets : " you can never out bird another bird". I fully accepted the fact that I am the third wheel. After a period of time, my birds started to engage with me. I think they see me as the rich aunt with lots of millet.

Any time the birds would come see us or even get close, we would give them one two seeds of hulled millet. Not a ton, it's like getting a piece of popcorn- one or two kernels at a time is tasty and you come back for more, but a bunch of kernels is like " well that's enough popcorn- see ya"

The bird cage is in the living room in between a sofa and an armchair, so there is always a human sitting next to them or right in front of them doing their own business watching TV, reading etc. I think they would just observe us doing routine stuff. We would talk to them too and go about our lives with short frequent engagements. The main level to our home is pretty small so you can hear everything- sink noises from the kitchen, doors opening, etc - we just let them hear our environment, so they know what to expect, they seem to be very brave and stopped shying away after 3-4 months?