FreeLists / tn-bird / [TN-Bird] WillieBoy Day 8

["Tommy Curtis" <tcbirdwatch@xxxxxxxxxx>]

WillieBoy didn't fool around about getting sugar water this morning when he 
appeared at 6:31.  He sat on the feeder perch immediately and drank for over a 
minute while basking in the warmth of the two heat lamps; he ate so fast he 
created an air bubble in the feeder and that scared him away.  Then he confused 
us by not coming back for almost 20 minutes but the puzzlement dissipated when 
a hawk flew through the yard and scattered all the seed eaters.  After he was 
gone WillieBoy returned and drank for nearly a minute and has been back four 
times in the first hour, each time sitting and drinking a long time.  This is 
in sharp contrast to yesterday when the strong wind kept him unsettled and made 
his visits short.  I had tied down the feeder so it was not swaying but the 
wind would nearly blow him off the perch when he tried to sit.  Thankfully it 
is calm this morning because with the temperature in the single digits any wind 
would be really awful.  
We have scheduled getting WillieBoy positively identified and banded early 
Monday morning when the weather will be more moderate.  Anyone who wants to 
come and watch is invited.  I don't think I will be able to resist touching him 
a few times myself when he is captive.  I became addicted to handling a 
hummingbird a couple of summers ago when an immature Ruby-throated was hit by a 
car in front of our house.  I saw him in the road and it was obvious his left 
wing was broken, and the vet I took him to said the bone was crushed and he 
could never fly again.  I made a perch in a shoebox and positioned a feeder so 
he could eat without leaving the perch.  But he fixated on my voice and every 
time I came into the room he would begin fluttering his wings and wanting me to 
take him and rub his head as he sat on my shoulder.  Even though I knew I could 
not properly care for him long term, it was difficult after a month to turn him 
over to the Walden's Puddle rehab center so they could place him in an aviary.  
I've held all kinds of birds in my hands through the years but nothing is as 
special as a hummingbird.  

Tommy & Virginia Curtis
Smithville, TN
DeKalb County
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