Hummingbird in my hand

[katana600]

Last week this little female hummingbird came into my screen porch. I got a broom and she landed on it and I carried her out the door. Then she hovered right at my kitchen window while I was washing dishes. So, I looked online to make sure feeding her wouldn't interfere with their migration. Then I set up a feeder and she has been coming back. Today I was pressure washing my deck and she found her way inside again. This time she was exhausted so I picked her up. When I took her outside she stayed on my open hand for five minutes.

[judygram]

How precious was that, they are amazingly small and seem to weigh nothing but very powerful little beings in how fast their wings beat per second, one of God's creatures. I have held a few of these in my lifetime, when we built on an addition they would come thru the openings for the windows and doors so when they were in place they got trapped and I had to catch them and put them out. I've also had them fly into a window and stun themselves and I have held them until they got their bearings and flew away.

[Giannine]

How cool! I love hummingbirds

[katana600]

I was so nervous about picking her up because I was afraid I might hurt her. She was already so stressed. But once I got her outside and opened my hand she stayed. It was a great relief when she flew away unharmed.

[birdhouse]

Wow, I would love to hold a hummingbird. I've never seen a live one up close or still. One day, I got to watch one in the crown of a hydrangea taking a bath in the sprinkler. It was so happy in the cool water that it let me get w/in about 5 ft. That's as close as I've ever come.

[neoow]

Wow, they are amazing. I've never seen one that isn't flying. Didn't realise quite how small they were.

[BaileysPapa]

Hummingbirds are fabulous creatures. Such tiny beings that fly thousands of miles on migration! When I was a child, my Grandparents had some Buddleia bushes (Hummingbird/Butterfly bushes) that were in a group, and we'd sit in the center and watch the Hummers. We'd also try to catch them, but, all we ever felt was the touch of their wings as they evaded us. There is a fascinating video on Youtube of a guy that rescued an injured Hummer, and it stayed with him for some time before flying on it's way.

[katana600]

My husband's sweet grandpa kept them well fed in Pennsylvania. He could stand near a feeder and hold real still and the hummingbirds would land on his fingers. I so loved going there and watching the hummingbirds. I found books about hummingbirds for gifts for him and learned a lot at the same time. Pop and Grandma have been gone for more than ten years so this friendly little hummingbird and her not-so-friendly mate have been bringing back fond memories. I am working between thunderstorms so when I have a chance to stain the deck, I watch the pair of hummingbirds. The female will hover just outside the screen if I am sitting in the screen porch. The male "buzzes" me the entire time I am working on the deck. I only see one pair at a time, so I am wondering if there is one pair or many.

[katana600]

Another day of staining the deck and just as I was trying to finish before dark, I came inside and found another hummingbird had made his way into the screen porch. He was clinging to the screen about ten feet up and he would not let go. I went and got a ladder to help him get out because it was getting close to dark. I climbed up and reached my hand up to him. He made a loud squeak and jumped right onto my thumb. I carefully took him outside and he would not let go. Then, all the while he was sitting on my thumb, I reached inside the door in the basement where I had Gilbert's travel backpack and he hopped right in there. I put in in a dark place in the house to keep him safe until morning. I will get up at dawn and set him free at the feeder. I have never seen such a thing as them getting on my hand, much less refusing to budge to get off and fly away. He is so tiny, not much bigger than a dragonfly. I could barely feel him on my thumb.

Edited August 23, 2016 by katana600
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[katana600]

Last night I could barely sleep between the awe and wonder of having a hummingbird in my house and worry that it would be okay during the night. This morning, as soon as it was daylight, I peeked in and could not find him in the backpack. My heart sank, but as I carried it outside, he came to life and was buzzing and squeaking. As soon as I unzipped it he whizzed away into the treetop like a bullet. In two minutes he was back sitting on the feeder for a long time. In the meantime, to my utter disbelieve and great delight, the female came and landed less than three feet from my shoulder on one of the wires on the deck rail. I have never seen them land low like that. She sat there and I didn't want to move and jinx the moment. Finally, I turned and said "You're welcome baby" as I pretended she was thanking me for keeping her mate safe overnight. I will have to put a sign outside "Dee's Birdie Bed and Breakfast".

[katana600]

This is how close I was to finishing my deck oiling project. It has rained every day since we pressure washed the deck so it seems like the job that never ends. I would have completed it last night if I hadn't had my little hummingbird adventure. If I hadn't piled all the furniture, grill and dangerous smelly oils and brushes in there, I would have just turned off the light and let him sleep out there last night. I am still beyond amazed at him and the female just sitting on me and not flying off. All I can think is they were utterly exhausted from being trapped, trying to fly out through the roof and beating their little wings against the rafters. I try to keep the screen door shut but will either hang a sheet over it so I can come and go with my hands full or put a stand there so I can set things down and close the door to keep this from happening again. I have heard that one of my neighbors works with banding and tracking the hummingbirds. I read about it and its a specialized process that you have to go to classes and be certified to participate. This has certainly piqued my interest. Until the past couple of weeks, I had barely noticed the hummingbirds. We had a feeder about six feet off the ground and they never seemed interested so I had put it away.

Edited August 23, 2016 by katana600

[judygram]

You have the same jewels, aka hummingbirds, as we do, the ruby throated and I love to watch the iridescent of those throats as they turn their heads especially when they are sitting and watching for others to approach their feeder, gonna miss them when they leave this fall.

[Greywings]

Tiny, lovely and so territorial with each other. They look like jeweled jet fighters skirmishing in our back yard. Wonderful happenstance that you got to touch two of them due to circumstance.

[SRSeedBurners]

A great little video of a hummer building a nest. We had them all over the place and I got to handle them and raised a couple of them with my Grandmother's help when I was a kid.

 

 

[katana600]

There is something magical about these tiny little powerhouse creatures. The word is out that this is a good place for them. They are coming in groups of six or more now. I put out four new feeders and they are using all of them. While I am on the deck they will come land right on the stainless steel wires of the deck rails just a foot or so from me. I have always loved them and this is the first time they have come to the feeders consistently. I got all the work done outside and have kept the door closed so I haven't had any more inside. I love watching them. It is amazing how tiny their nest is. I would love to see a nest some day.

[SullysMom]

Wow that's amazing! Very special. I see two that stick around my place. I have two feeders for them, one in the front and one in the back because I've read they are pretty territorial. I love sitting outside and hearing their wings go. It's crazy the speed they flap their little wings! Beautiful picture!

[SRSeedBurners]

Wowzers!

 

 

[katana600]

Oh gosh y'all, I forgot to tell you about #3. I was in the basement working on some things when I heard quite a commotion upstairs. My husband was up there and after three decades I have learned boys make big noises and I didn't even get up to go look. Soon enough he came down to ask me how I got the last hummingbirds out of the screen porch. Of course, now I was going to go up to see. The crash was him falling through the top of the deck box. Mmm hmm. The deck box that was the object of many hours of cleaning, sanding, reoiling and hauling up the stairs. The deck box you can sit upon, but not stand upon. And there was a little male hummingbird frantically trying to find his way out of the screened room. As usual, I first try the broom method of permitting him to land and then carefully taking him outside. When that didn't work, I climbed the ladder. He was such a determined little fellow. Their feet are so tiny he could put his toes through the tiny mesh of the screen. To my surprise he also impaled his beak all the way to his nares. Amazing that a mosquito can't get through the screen but this hummingbird jabbed his beak in there and was holding on for dear life. He was too fragile for me to pull on him, I just waited for him to let go. He was in a big hurry to take off again when I got him outside. He immediately came back to the feeder to get stocked up after his panic. And then.... I listened to my husband's story of why he didn't just go get a ladder. To be fair... I was sympathetic, he was bleeding from his ankles to thighs. He had a lot of carnage on his shin bones. He actually had to go to the doctor and get antibiotics.