Hummingbird Down

A week and a half ago, I had two lingering hummingbirds (most of these type of birds have already ventured down south to Mexico for winter) feeding on my feeders.  This particular morning, temperatures were 62 degrees, and it was still raining from the day before. 

Both hummingbirds were sitting on the same feeder drenched of water, shivering.  When I opened my storm door to go out on the porch one hummingbird was startled and fell to the ground.  I immediately went to his rescue.  Picking him up, he looked at me, fluffed his wings, made one of those silly giggles, and flew over to the trees lining the front yard. 

 

The second hummingbird remained on the bird feeder shivering.  I went into my house and pulled out a towel, and a syringe full of sugar water.  When I opened the storm door the second bird was no longer sitting on the feeder.  So I went down the porch steps to the other side of the porch, and there he was lying on the ground. 

Picture of his underside.

Picture of his back.

Sat him in a towel with the bird feeder.  Then used a syringe.

 

I gently picked him up, went back up on the porch, where I had laid a towel down on a shelf, placed a hummingbird feeder on the shelf, and then gently laid the bird on the shelf next to the feeder placing his beak in the feeder.  He wasn’t taking the sugar water.  So I took a syringe and filled it with the sugar water.  Gently placing a droplet on the hummingbird’s beak………the bird took in the sugar water.  I continued this process for a couple of minutes.  I made sure the towel was close to the bird on all sides, except one, so he had a way to fly off.

After two hours, I watched this little hummingbird gain his energy, and fly off to the tree line in the front yard.  

These 2 birds were back at my house the very next day……I’m not sure if that was to acknowledge they appreciated my help, or just because they needed another day of sugar water before flying south to warmer temperatures.