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.
