Hey Ceci and all,
Going up and away is the natural reaction for a fleeing hummingbird and a
common problem with those that get indoors. The simplest solution is often
to place a feeder in the door/window and leave them alone for a few
minutes. They often will go to the feeder and then out once they don't
feel threatened.
Occasionally the areas are too large (or too busy) for them to figure a way
out easily. I've had decent success with getting birds to sit on the end
of a long pole and 'slowly' move them to the exit (important that it's
never towards anyone or any motion). They often tire themselves out
quickly and just sit on the pole long enough to get them outdoors.
Mark
Mark Monroe
Louisville, KY
On Fri, Jul 26, 2019 at 5:04 PM Ce Ci <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
While going in/out my back porch the other day, I thought I heard a bit of
a buzz off to one side but I've got house wrens nesting in a box on a shelf
in the porch since I've been leaving doors open on two sides of the porch
for my dog to come and go (the porch is more a screened in storage unit any
more anyway). I was in and out a couple of times before I saw it - a
female hummer desperate to get out of the porch but only seeming to go to
the completely closed end or the porch.
My hubby swung a broom outside the closed end of the and I tried shooing
the bird gently toward the open doors with a pool skimmer net but the
little dickens wouldn't come down from the ceiling to get low enough to
slip out either door under the plastic/vinyl skirt at the top of the door.
I was starting to worry since I didn't want to force her roughly (or like a
badminton birdie), so I ended up pulling off the vinyl thingy and she
flitted out.
A few years ago we had something similar on our open air front porch when
a young hummer seemed "trapped" at the ceiling and wouldn't fly out under
the porch structure frame. I used a large bronze scoop to help that little
one out.
I'm also feeding plenty of thirsty hummingbirds after what seemed like a
slow start early on this year. I have yucca plants close to some
shepherd's hooks with feeders on them and the little green birds perched on
the yucca stalks look just like the yucca pods - same size and color.
*Ceci & friends atThe Far Side Farm *
