Thursday, August 12, 2010

Rescue mission

An amazing thing happened to me today.

Something that I have been wanting to do for many years.

I wish the circumstances were different, but a very happy ending just the same.

Okay here it is.

I went out for a smoke at work, and heard some buzzing. I looked up to see a hummingbird clinging to the wall of the portico. It seems confused and couldn't find her way out. I went inside to find something to use to guide her out. No go. I called my friend in the next building. She's an animal loving nut like me. She came over, but we couldn't figure out how to get her out.

We ended up calling a friend with a pool and ask him to bring the extension rod and net. He came. Now we have four people involved. We were able to get her down to reaching distance and I gently grabbed her.

Oh she was sooo small, weak and crying. Broke our hearts. I asked my friend to drive me to my house. When we got there, I thought she had died. She just fell over in my hand, but she was still breathing.

I took the lid off the feeder and stuck her little beak in. I pulled her out and her little tongue was licking the nectar. We kept this up until she was strong enough to put her little beak in herself.

I was able to put her in my other hand. She was able to stand up on her own. I had the feeder there if she wanted more, but she was strong enough to fly away.

I cannot tell you the high I felt. What a wonderful experience this was.

With the help from my friends, we were able to save a baby hummingbird.

Unfortunately, I have no pictures. What I can tell you is how light they are. Almost like holding a leaf. Their feathers are a beautiful green and fan shaped. They have the tiniest eyes I have ever since. Their feet are sooo small, but they have sharp nails.

I would love to be able to hand fed another hummingbird again, but I really would like better circumstances. There was a fear that this little jewel was going to die in my hand. Luckily, this story had a happy ending.