Hummingbird Morning Miracle

This morning one of my DH's workers brought me this little fellow. I wasn't quite sure what he had at first.

Evidently this little hummer found it's way into the bee barn, and was discovered on the concrete floor. We warmed him by holding him and feeling his little heart beating. He began to stir as he warmed up.

So I made him some sugar water, and he ate a little bit. We knew he couldn't stay in the house. I have cats and this is a wild bird, after all.

We decided the safest place for him to recuperate would be in the green house. So we carried him out there. He was already trying to perch on my finger. Then we released him.

He likes to perch on the old bird cage holder. So then I found and I cleaned out the old H.bird feeder, and hung it from the hook on the bird cage holder.

In the previous photo he is trying to blend in with my ornamental fairy lights. After a few minutes he started flying around checking out the Hibiscus, and the other flowering plants.

He discovered my Pentas.

He really likes those Pentas.

awwwww, so sweet and he ended up in the right yard !

Very cool!

Here he is in camoflage mode. Oops he is so good at hiding that the whole photo disappeared.

This message was edited Feb 18, 2009 4:05 PM

One more time.

Sorry about the double post. In this one he found the feeder!

Here he is perched on the bottom of the bird cage holder now Hummingbird feeder holder.

Here he is actually feeding!

Singing Wolf
What an amazing experience and a very lucky little bird.

Chris

I hate thumbnails, can't see them clearly. Rats! Okay, this is another favorite perch. It is of him sitting on top of one of the ventilation fans. Which I turned off. Fans and birds don't mix well.
More in a moment.

A photo my youngest son took of the Hummer at the feeder.

Another favorite perch, photo taken by YS.

Hummer flitting back.

And forth.

No more photos for now. I am going blind trying to see the right ones. I am so jazzed about this little fellow. He does have a Ruby throat, I'm not sure what kind he is, except for very lucky! I am hoping he finds his way out of the green house. He is constantly zipping back and forth across the top of the g.h. Then he goes and feeds at the feeder, then he perches for a bit, then he is back to zipping around.
I turned off the ventilation fans because they are much bigger than the one he was perched on. I will have to put some kind of screen up over them to keep him from getting hurt if I have to turn them on. Today it was set low, and when it came on I flew faster than the hummer to the thermostat control to turn off the fan.
My whole family has been enchanted by this unexpected visitor. I hope that he finds his way out through the cantilever vents. Then he could come and go as he pleased.
We are so blessed this day! ^_^
Walk In Beauty!
SW

Wow, very neat SW! Thanks for all the pictures. I definitely enjoyed seeing your little visitor, and am so glad he is recovering well.

One beautiful miracle indeed! Thanks SW for sharing the wonderful experience with us.

SW, what a great story! I think your visitor might be a female Rufous hummingbird:
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Rufous_Hummingbird.html

Very cool! That is definitely one lucky little bird!

Gosh I have been so blessed this day. He is so cute. When I went out to close the green house door, the little guy was still in there. I hope he finds his way out tomorrow. I worry about him being alone, or worse yet the Fans! He wasn't flying much, and he should be okay overnight.
It was really amazing feeling his tiny little heart beating. Cheered up my Mom, and even my cynical Teens were amazed.
What kind of bird is that Lilly_love?
Imapigeon, I'm not sure, he definitely has a Ruby throat and could be an Anna's Hummer, we are in their range too. I don't know how to look it up yet on the site you sent. Can't find my bird book either. Rats! I'm just happy he survived. Found one frozen once and it still makes me sad to think of. I told the little Zipper to eat lots of nectar before s/he went to bed.
Thank you all for letting me share this experience with you! ^_^
Thanks for putting up with my oops too! LOL!
WIB,
SW

Here's the link to the entire "bird lookup" site (Cornell's "All About Birds")
I looked up the Anna's (I have a flock of them that lets me live here as long as I maintain their feeders). Maybe yours is a juvenile male---the females, according to the site, don't have any red on their throats. This is the coolest site---has sound files for all the birds I've looked up, which can be a huge help in identifying them!

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/

SW, the tiny bird is a small finch called pine siskin, I think. Your 'lil hummer is much smaller in size, but just as cute as can be. I too, hope the little one does well. Thanks again for sharing.

Ima,
I need a better telephoto lens! I held the lil one, and I just don't know which it is. I do believe that the hummer is one or the other. I'll keep you posted. I'm going to listen for his song. I heard him earlier, but you know how that is. You almost need it right there to compare. Well I do.
By the way, that is the neatest bird site. I've often dreamed of inviting the Audubon society or even the local scouts out to help me do the yearly bird count. That would be so cool! We have so many different species of birds here.
I like the pine siskins yellow head. Such a cheerful color!
It's been a pleasure to share this with you!
WIB,
SW

What a fabulous experience, SingingWolf. Thanks and well done. It must have been incredible to feel its hear beating. Birds don't have the same visual interpretation of their environment that we have, so it may be an idea to slowly move the feeder over towards the door and downwards, so that the feeder is not above the top of the door. Once it's close to the door, the little one should be able to find the way out.

Great minds think alike! Thanks Margaret. ^_^
That is the beauty of having the feeder on the old bird cage stand. I can easily move it! Plus I won't have to climb on anything to reach the feeder to clean and refill it.
WIB,
SW

That is amazing SW! I can't wait to show my daughter the photos when she gets home from school!

What a cheery start to the morning. Great story. Glad you shared!

How wonderful. Not many us can say we have a hummingbird in our hands. You were definitely correct in saying he came to the right home. Great job!

Aaawww SW - thanks for sharing! My girls asked the other day when we would see the hummingbirds. Hee hee. We have a while to go still.
~chele

Great thread SW. I resued one that my warehouse guys brought to me. He got tangled up in spider webs and the guys got him down and brought him to me in a panic. I cleaned him up and got him some sugar water and in a couple of hours he was on his way. I was so tickled to have been able to help.

Glad you like the site, SW. Found it thanks to a DG article I noticed last week----because of the article I participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count for the first time. It was a lousy showing for me, because of the weather---all the birds were cleverly hunkered down. But it got me started, and I found this marvelous eBird site (which seems to be free), and where anyone can enter bird counts year-round----I LOVE it.

http://ebird.org/content/ebird/about

I've done 2 counts so far this week---just spent 15 minutes each day. SO COOL! You can set up your own locations using what looks to me like GoogleEarth maps that are tied to the site....it might be something you and your family would enjoy, and any info you captured would feed the database.

Moved the feeder about halfway down the green house from where it was. The little hummer zipped back and forth and seemed confused. He finally spotted it, and fed from it in it's new location. Still haven't figured out which one he is.
ima, great information on the website. I'll have to see if I can participate. Maybe not right away with things the way they are at home with Mom, but soon!
marie, you reminded me of another hummer story. As we all know Hummers are nectar eaters. So one day when I spotted a Hummer repeatedly visiting a site near the eaves of the roof I got curious. I watched her really close and realized that she was collecting the spider web. Why would she need the spider web? See Photo.
To be continued.
WIB,
SW

That my dears, is the nest she created using the spider silk. I watched her as she zipped into the old cabins' sleeping porch, and added to the nest. This nest is several years old. You can almost see the age by looking at the oldest portion being the darkest (lowest), with the subsequent years additions being lighter in color.
It would be taller, but I made the mistake of showing the boys where it was. Soooo, one day they had to take it down, and gift it to me. Ya got to love them!
I am so amazed, at how she incorporated the electric cord and the pull string for the light, into the structure of her nest. By the way, you can still use the pull string without disturbing her nest. I suspect that the original builder has passed this nest down to a daughter. The best thing is that every year there is a new addition to her little high rise!
The guys think I'm crazy because I wouldn't let them board up the window, so she can't get in. She worked awfully hard building that nest in a sheltered and safe place. It's not like we're using it, so why can't she?
I'm weird that way.
Walk In Beauty,
SW