I realize that this list is for those wishing to trade sighting lists rather
than discuss birds and their habits (is there such a list?) but I have a
problem that some among you might provide help or find entertaining so.....
I have a hummingbird problem. Our house in Chesterfield hosts a number of
Ruby Throated Hummingbirds at feeders located on the front and back. The
problem is on two occasions in the last two weeks a Hummingbird (both males
but I do not know if they were the same individual) flew into the open
garage door. The garage has a 13 foot ceiling so there is over 5 feet of
space above the rolled up door that forms a pocket trap. To fly out, the
bird would have to fly down to the opening but a hummer excited and wishing
to escape naturally flies up and hums around the ceiling getting nowhere.
In both cases I was in the garage working in my workshop when the bird flew
in.
Has anyone else had a problem with this sort of thing? I wondered if the
birds might be attracted in by the red tail lights on the car parked there
or if they were turning too soon when moving from the front to back feeders.
This same garage trap has been the downfall of hundreds of horseflies and,
sorry horsefly lovers, I don't care how many of them it claims. I am,
however, concerned that this could lead to a dead hummer and want to avoid
this. Suggestions on how to prevent this from happening again would be
appreciated. I will not be leaving the door down all the time since I have
a workshop there and like the fresh air. Neither will I be placing a huge
screen door on the double wide garage opening. Am I missing a trick to
discourage this?
Last week I put a broom next to the exhausted bird so he could cling to it
instead of the board he was on and carried him to a window opened for that
purpose. Today, rather than waiting for the bird to exhaust himself, I hung
a red hummer feeder from the bottom of the door and waited for the bird to
drop in for a snack (it took about a minute for him to find it). While he
was feeding, I sneaked up from the back and scared him out the door.
Doug Smith
dougsmit@xxxxxxxxxxx
Please Visit My Educational Web Site
Ancient Greek & Roman Coins
http://dougsmith.ancients.info
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