Jus' out shootin' robins

Don't they make a stick, not a tripod, that you can attach in the same way you would a tripod to help hold the weight and steady the camera?

Yep, monopod, I've built a couple, then found a good buy on a used Bogen, with a swivel head

My homebuilt ones:

http://forum.manualfocus.org/viewtopic.php?id=9574

http://forum.manualfocus.org/viewtopic.php?id=7212

http://forum.manualfocus.org/viewtopic.php?id=9593

I also sometimes take the monopod and collapse it, swivel the camera "full vertical" so to speak, and stick the monopod back over the top of my shoulder, where it sticks out to the rear of me a foot--foot and a half. This makes a pretty quick stabilizing setup "on the spot."