Hummingbird Rescue!

We live on a wooded lot and get a lot of chances to observe nature. The boys have bug boxes for caterpillars (which sometimes do make their cocoons and turn into butterflies). We watch the deer and watch robin eggs hatch in my hanging baskets. Each year we have several hummingbirds that come on a daily basis to enjoy my coral bells, petunia waves and, of course, our hummingbird feeders. Our birds aren’t afraid of us as they have a daily time that they visit and if I happen to be gardening then, they just work around me. The picture is from last fall and I was just sitting on the deck with a regular digital camera.

At least once each summer though, one of these small birds ends up stuck in the garage. We try to have a butterfly net on hand for such occasions so we can catch and release them. Last summer when Brad brought the boys home from their day, they found a poor hummingbird in the garage. We suspect he got trapped the night before and wasn’t able to escape when we closed up for the night and then left in the morning. Brad caught the bird, but when he got him out of the net, the bird just went limp. Trying to think quickly, and with both boys watching, Brad sent Trent inside for a glass of sweet tea. Trent returned with a tall glass of tea complete with lots of ice cubes. (I guess our literal thinker figured Brad was going to enjoy a refreshing glass while contemplating what to do with the bird.) Brad fished out some of the ice, turned the bird over and stuck his beak into the glass. He said in seconds the birds tongue came out of his beak and he started drinking the tea. He pulled the bird out for a breather then stuck his little beak back into the glass for another drink. Suddenly, the hummingbird perked up and when Brad loosened his grip, he flew away.

When I got home from work, the boys were so excited to tell me about their big rescue! We hung our feeder this week and the boys started with, “hey mom, do you remember the time the hummingbird drank the tea?”