Julie and Liz,
I too had a male Anna's have difficulty will the cold spell (I'm at
1129'). I was looking out my kitchen window and from the front walkway
below the deck I see this hummingbird twice try to fly straight up just to
falter back down again. When I went out he was in a plant pot and upon my
getting close he flew up in a small tree. Then I didn't know whether to
feel guilty that I forced him to expend so much energy or okay in that I
forced him to a safer spot. Either way I did not see him and feared he did
not make it. I do now have an adult male coming into my 2 feeders
occasionally but don't know if it is the same one (He had been there
everyday). I also have an immature male and a female that are more
frequent visitors.
Thank you Liz for the info about how to handle a hypothermic bird!
Stacy Burleigh
Melrose
On Fri, Jan 1, 2016 at 6:47 PM, Elizabeth Gayner <egayner@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi Julie,
So sorry to hear about the loss of the hummingbird. Assuming part of the
issue was the little guy got hypothermic. In the summer, I capture and
band song birds as part of my job. Though we strive to avoid such
circumstances, on occasion a bird can become hypothermic when hanging in a
net before we are able to get it out of the net. So the quickest way to
warm it up when ya don't have electricity (which we don't when in the
woods) is cup the bird in a your hand (with or without a cloth around it...
though works quicker without the cloth) and place against your skin (I
usually place under my shirt on my belly) so it can "soak up" your body
heat. Hummingbirds usually recover quickly. Or place in a small box wirh a
hand warmer packet covered with a cloth and with room in box for bird to
move away from heat source if it gets too warm. After bird warms up a
bit... can then feed it some sugar water (never use honey) by gently prying
beak open slightly and sticking into an eye dropper, syringe, or into a
hummingbird feeder outlet with sugar water mix. And usually once they get
a taste of the water they will happily start drinking the water even while
holding them. And then they typically fly off in no time. They are pretty
resilient little guys.
For the birds,
Liz Gayner
Roseburg
On Friday, January 1, 2016, Julie Edmonds <creeksidesongbird@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
This is my 18th winter here, and never before have I had a hummer stay
after mid-September, though I've seen migrants (Anna's) come through in
December. My resident is a female or immature Anna's. This was only the
second year Anna's has nested here.
Yesterday an adult male Anna's paid a visit.
During the terrible cold and lengthy power outage before Christmas, I saw
a female or immature Rufous resting on my feeder. I watched it awhile, and
it appeared exhausted. Checking a few minutes later I discovered it on the
ground. I brought it inside, but the house was as cold as the outdoors. I
tried, but wasn't able to save it. It expired after two and a half days.
;-(
I hope the rest of you at the higher elevations keep at least one feeder
out during the off-season. I'm at 1500-1600'.
Julie Edmonds
Tiller/Drew area
