Little Bird

[petrini1]

Today at a local strip mall, I spotted something the size of my thumb lying in front of the Hallmark store. I took a closer look and saw a grass-green hummingbird, shivering on the sidewalk, apparently injured. I thought about trying to help the poor little thing, but I had no idea how. I stopped at the drug store briefly and then walked back

Comments

Hopefully someone rescued and gave aide

[dragonet2]

Once upon a very long time ago, when we still lived in the Prairie Village House (pre 1993), I came home from work and found a small bird gasping on my front porch, obviously exhausted.

I got a sock, gently gathered it up and made it as warm as I could. Then I made up a quart of what amounts to an isotonic water/sugar/salt solution and gave it some drips of it with a dropper. After the first few drops it started going, 'hey, that was good!" and actually sort of drinking it as I dropped. When I felt that it was getting much more 'tonic' (vigorous, muscle tone was returning, etc.) I took it back outside, much to the disappointment of the felines. I unfolded it and it first hopped strongly into the tulip tree, sat for a moment, then leapt for the sky. I sent it off with a prayer for the Goddess to hold it and get it to its friends and future.

It was a small touch with magic. And later I ID'd it as a Tennessee Warbler, a Very Small bird that is sort of misnamed, it winters in Mexico and Central America and summers in Canada and northern central and eastern U.S.

Re: Hopefully someone rescued and gave aide

[petrini1]

Aw. What a nice story. I was thinking I would try to help the hummingbird if it was still there when I came back, though I really had no idea what to do.

Once I found a mourning dove in a similar condition on the sidewalk in front of my house. I checked again a half-hour later and it was still there. Another half-hour went by, and then I watched it take off into the sky, struggling at first but then gaining strength. Maybe it had just been tired.