(Non-humming) Hummingbird

[goldendj]

Ran into this little guy outside work today ...

No apparent injury but unable to fly more than a few feet at grass level. Tried getting him some sugar water thinking he was out of energy but no joy ... he ignored it

Then he stopped even trying to get away and just sat there

Finally called wildlife rescue and got hooked up with a hummingbird rehabber. They were emphatic not to use a shoebox... must be transparent so he's not in the dark. Finally found something in the office & spent lunch delivering him.

Rehabber said he was the second in two days ...

 

[showcaser]

Thanks for taking care of the little fellow. Hope he makes it.

 

[montmill]

Major bird migration going on now. Chances of seeing things like this are good. Thanks for doing what you did.

 

[Sylvanite]

She, actually (a female ruby-throated hummingbird if I have my bird id right).

 

[Judith]

I suspect it's a fledgling. I discovered one similarly while on a walk in California. The hummingbird rehab person explained that the parents were probably watching from nearby and that it should be flying before long, and not to try to bring it anywhere. And another hummingbird flew around whenI backed off a bit. I encouraged the fledgling to hop-fly off the sidewalk and into the flower and bushes area next to the sidewalk. By the time I came back past that spot on my return walk, it had been able to fly away, apparently.

Sure was cool to see it up close-- and amazingly, the baby is as big as the adults, so it's hard to realize it's a fledgling!

Judith

 

[penicillin]

Our yard is full of hummingbirds all year 'round. This is a pen turning website, so I did not post photos again this year, especially after I hijacked the other thread last year. We had two more nests in plain sight near the house again in Spring 2022. No doubt there were many more nests hidden from view.

If you scroll down this thread, you can see photos of a hummingbird nest from last year (2021):
https://www.penturners.org/threads/guarding-the-nest.170019/

(Hint: Keep scrolling to see the babies.)

 

[sbwertz]

I suspect it's a fledgling. I discovered one similarly while on a walk in California. The hummingbird rehab person explained that the parents were probably watching from nearby and that it should be flying before long, and not to try to bring it anywhere. And another hummingbird flew around whenI backed off a bit. I encouraged the fledgling to hop-fly off the sidewalk and into the flower and bushes area next to the sidewalk. By the time I came back past that spot on my return walk, it had been able to fly away, apparently.

Sure was cool to see it up close-- and amazingly, the baby is as big as the adults, so it's hard to realize it's a fledgling!

Judith

I heard a racket on my patio and went out and discovered my cats had cornered a young red-tailed hawk under the table. I shut the cats in the house and tried to persuade the bird to fly out from under the patio, but it kept flying into the ceiling. So I got a welding glove and caught it by the feet and carried it out to the front of the house. It sat perched on the side of my hand for several minutes, just looking around then flew off across the street, finally getting enough altitude to make it up into a tree. Must have been a maiden flight! It was sure cussing out those cats, though!

 

[Woodchipper]

Fledgling. Hummingbird's feet do not allow them to hop or walk...only to perch.

 

[penicillin]

I heard a racket on my patio and went out and discovered my cats had cornered a young red-tailed hawk under the table. I shut the cats in the house and tried to persuade the bird to fly out from under the patio, but it kept flying into the ceiling. So I got a welding glove and caught it by the feet and carried it out to the front of the house. It sat perched on the side of my hand for several minutes, just looking around then flew off across the street, finally getting enough altitude to make it up into a tree. Must have been a maiden flight! It was sure cussing out those cats, though!

A baby Cooper's hawk landed in the grass in our backyard last week. It had caught a small bird and wasn't sure what do next or how to take it somewhere else without losing it. The baby hawks like to hang out in the grass or on low "perches" like outside furniture when they first start flying.

We had a Cooper's hawk nest in our backyard tree a couple years ago. We were pleased that they had chosen our tree. We thought they were cute until the family started to leave bigger and bigger messes on the ground below the tree. They were not good at cleaning up after dinner. Sometimes it looked like a college dorm pillow fight out there. It was a good experience, but now we hope they choose a different tree for nesting.

 

[sbwertz]

My cat was a tree climber and discouraged birds from nesting in our big elm.

 

[goldendj]

A baby Cooper's hawk landed in the grass in our backyard last week. It had caught a small bird and wasn't sure what do next or how to take it somewhere else without losing it. The baby hawks like to hang out in the grass or on low "perches" like outside furniture when they first start flying.

We had a Cooper's hawk nest in our backyard tree a couple years ago. We were pleased that they had chosen our tree. We thought they were cute until the family started to leave bigger and bigger messes on the ground below the tree. They were not good at cleaning up after dinner. Sometimes it looked like a college dorm pillow fight out there. It was a good experience, but now we hope they choose a different tree for nesting.

We had a hawk show up this past spring when our bird feeder was particularly busy. Still see him around occasionally but he's not a regular ...