This is one of the kinds we have here in San Diego
"Anna's Hummingbird"
Several years ago, I went to a park. As I was walking along, a little sparrow landed on the ground in front of me. It was a young bird, fully feathered. I looked up but didn’t see where it came from. It just sat there so I bent down and picked it up. It looked like it was fine, but it was late afternoon and I was afraid it wouldn’t survive the night, especially if it couldn’t fly yet.
I took it home and fed it some warm baby cereal, which it took easily. The next morning it was still alive. As I was feeding it, I noticed something weird about the eyes. It looked like something was moving. I took it to the window so I could see better. It looked like tiny worms were in the eyes.
I called a vet and they said yes, it was normal that baby birds sometimes had little “tube worms” in their eyes. They had eye drops if I wanted to pick some up. I went to the vet and got the eye drops. My intention was to treat the bird’s eyes until the worms were gone and then to let the bird go. It was flitting around in the little cage I was keeping it in.
I named the sparrow “Waldo” because I had just seen a movie, “The Great Waldo Pepper”, about a stunt pilot from the 1930's. The bird was actually a little female, but I always referred to her as him. It just seemed to fit her better.
I wound up keeping Waldo. She became very tame. When I opened the cage door, she would fly out and land on my shoulder. She’d sit up there. I fed her little pieces of bread from my hand.
Waldo lived for about six years with me. It was amazing because I also had a cat at the same time. Sparky had never showed any interest in Waldo though. One morning I found Waldo lying at the bottom of her cage. I missed hearing her chirp and sing and sitting on my shoulder.
Through the years we’ve found baby birds in our yard or birds that one of the cats have caught. If they are still alive, I bring them in and try to save them. Usually they die, but there have been a couple of times that, after they are given some food and water, they perk up. If there is no apparent damage to them, they might survive. Sometimes though, the injury is inside and that’s usually fatal.
I had one bird that Jezibel caught who didn’t look too bad. I brought it in and kept it overnight. It was still alive the next morning. After feeding it, I noticed it was pretty strong. I took it out and opened my hand. It flew off like nothing had happened. In more cases than not, though, the ending is not good.
Yesterday Lexi was outside. She’s pretty laid back, but she is also an opportunist. Given the chance to catch a bird that is not too fast, she will take it.
I happened to walk past the patio door and Lexi was sitting on the grass looking at something. Then she kind of moved her paw. That’s when I saw that there was a hummingbird in front of her. I knew that if I yelled “Lexi!”, she would forget everything and run away. I mean that cat can be sitting on my lap, half asleep, purring, and if I take a breath like I’m going to cough, she is awake and scurrying to get off my lap.
In this case, it was good that she was that way. I went out and picked up the little hummer. It was a baby, still alive. I felt so bad though. I know how fragile they are. There was no blood on it and it wasn’t really ruffled up much. Lexi had not sunk her teeth anywhere that I could see and she doesn’t have front claws.
I just knew the little bird would die, but I brought it inside. It felt kind of cold. I put a little fuzzy blanket in the dryer to warm while I held the bird in my hands. I found a small box and made a tiny “nest” and put the bird inside. Its’ tail feathers looked fine and the wings looked fine.
I decided I would make some nectar and see if I could get the bird to take some. Maybe if I could get it to eat, it might at least survive. I was worried about the little right foot. It looked like he was clinching it and might not be able to perch. I took the sharp point of a pencil and pushed it through the toes to see if the toes moved. They did, but he would not unclench them. I got my glasses and since the frames that extend to the ears were small, I put him on one side to see if he would hold on. He did with his left foot, but not with the right.
I drew up some nectar in a small syringe. I held him and put the long beak inside the end of the syringe a couple of times. I kept doing that and then I saw his long tongue reach out. I held the syringe to his beak and he started taking nectar. I couldn’t believe it.
I decided to see if he could fly. I put the blanket on the floor and set him down on it. He started moving his wings and sure enough, he flew up to the window sill. I called Charlie in so he could see what Lexi had found.
I offered him a little more nectar. We could hear the parents outside in the trees. We decided to take their baby out and see if they would come to him.
First, we took the hummingbird feeder down. Charlie held it up while I put the little bird up to one of the openings. He knew what it was. He stuck his beak in and was obviously drinking the nectar.
So far, so good. But, then, instead of perking up like we thought he would, he slumped over on his side. I said “Oh, no! I think he’s dying!” Our hopes were shattered.
He laid in my hand, but was still alive. We started for the house. I wanted to hold him until he died. Before we got to the door, he started moving in my hand. I could feel that he felt stronger and stronger. We were puzzled, but glad he was alive.
Charlie suggested putting him up on a frond of one of the Norfolk Island Pines we have near the feeders. We knew the hummingbird parents were around. We had seen them and we could hear them.
We laid the baby hummingbird on a frond that was turned up and cushioned him like a bed. Then we went inside to watch and see if he stayed there.
In only a minute, one of the parents came down to the baby, flitted above it, and then with the baby in tow, they both flew up into a tree on the other side of the fence. We couldn’t believe it. It was one of those “we gotcha” moments.
More later.........
I took it home and fed it some warm baby cereal, which it took easily. The next morning it was still alive. As I was feeding it, I noticed something weird about the eyes. It looked like something was moving. I took it to the window so I could see better. It looked like tiny worms were in the eyes.
I called a vet and they said yes, it was normal that baby birds sometimes had little “tube worms” in their eyes. They had eye drops if I wanted to pick some up. I went to the vet and got the eye drops. My intention was to treat the bird’s eyes until the worms were gone and then to let the bird go. It was flitting around in the little cage I was keeping it in.
I named the sparrow “Waldo” because I had just seen a movie, “The Great Waldo Pepper”, about a stunt pilot from the 1930's. The bird was actually a little female, but I always referred to her as him. It just seemed to fit her better.
I wound up keeping Waldo. She became very tame. When I opened the cage door, she would fly out and land on my shoulder. She’d sit up there. I fed her little pieces of bread from my hand.
Waldo lived for about six years with me. It was amazing because I also had a cat at the same time. Sparky had never showed any interest in Waldo though. One morning I found Waldo lying at the bottom of her cage. I missed hearing her chirp and sing and sitting on my shoulder.
Through the years we’ve found baby birds in our yard or birds that one of the cats have caught. If they are still alive, I bring them in and try to save them. Usually they die, but there have been a couple of times that, after they are given some food and water, they perk up. If there is no apparent damage to them, they might survive. Sometimes though, the injury is inside and that’s usually fatal.
I had one bird that Jezibel caught who didn’t look too bad. I brought it in and kept it overnight. It was still alive the next morning. After feeding it, I noticed it was pretty strong. I took it out and opened my hand. It flew off like nothing had happened. In more cases than not, though, the ending is not good.
Yesterday Lexi was outside. She’s pretty laid back, but she is also an opportunist. Given the chance to catch a bird that is not too fast, she will take it.
I happened to walk past the patio door and Lexi was sitting on the grass looking at something. Then she kind of moved her paw. That’s when I saw that there was a hummingbird in front of her. I knew that if I yelled “Lexi!”, she would forget everything and run away. I mean that cat can be sitting on my lap, half asleep, purring, and if I take a breath like I’m going to cough, she is awake and scurrying to get off my lap.
In this case, it was good that she was that way. I went out and picked up the little hummer. It was a baby, still alive. I felt so bad though. I know how fragile they are. There was no blood on it and it wasn’t really ruffled up much. Lexi had not sunk her teeth anywhere that I could see and she doesn’t have front claws.
I just knew the little bird would die, but I brought it inside. It felt kind of cold. I put a little fuzzy blanket in the dryer to warm while I held the bird in my hands. I found a small box and made a tiny “nest” and put the bird inside. Its’ tail feathers looked fine and the wings looked fine.
I decided I would make some nectar and see if I could get the bird to take some. Maybe if I could get it to eat, it might at least survive. I was worried about the little right foot. It looked like he was clinching it and might not be able to perch. I took the sharp point of a pencil and pushed it through the toes to see if the toes moved. They did, but he would not unclench them. I got my glasses and since the frames that extend to the ears were small, I put him on one side to see if he would hold on. He did with his left foot, but not with the right.
I drew up some nectar in a small syringe. I held him and put the long beak inside the end of the syringe a couple of times. I kept doing that and then I saw his long tongue reach out. I held the syringe to his beak and he started taking nectar. I couldn’t believe it.
I decided to see if he could fly. I put the blanket on the floor and set him down on it. He started moving his wings and sure enough, he flew up to the window sill. I called Charlie in so he could see what Lexi had found.
I offered him a little more nectar. We could hear the parents outside in the trees. We decided to take their baby out and see if they would come to him.
First, we took the hummingbird feeder down. Charlie held it up while I put the little bird up to one of the openings. He knew what it was. He stuck his beak in and was obviously drinking the nectar.
So far, so good. But, then, instead of perking up like we thought he would, he slumped over on his side. I said “Oh, no! I think he’s dying!” Our hopes were shattered.
He laid in my hand, but was still alive. We started for the house. I wanted to hold him until he died. Before we got to the door, he started moving in my hand. I could feel that he felt stronger and stronger. We were puzzled, but glad he was alive.
Charlie suggested putting him up on a frond of one of the Norfolk Island Pines we have near the feeders. We knew the hummingbird parents were around. We had seen them and we could hear them.
We laid the baby hummingbird on a frond that was turned up and cushioned him like a bed. Then we went inside to watch and see if he stayed there.
In only a minute, one of the parents came down to the baby, flitted above it, and then with the baby in tow, they both flew up into a tree on the other side of the fence. We couldn’t believe it. It was one of those “we gotcha” moments.
More later.........
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