the saga continues. when he ws eady to fly, he couldn't. he had some kind of sticky stuff on his right wing and a little on his body. he survived the cleaning with turp and the rinsing with dish soap and warm water. no he is drying. i would like to see him fly away. i have a big trash can under him with some clothes in it in case he trys to fly too soon.

Being from South Florida. I am familiar with humming birds too. My mother is nuts about them. She has feeders up all over the back yard. And at my place in Missouri a little guy ended up in the house. I had to catch him as gently as I could and then take him outside. My wife thought I was crazy because I was so excited that I got to hold one. I'd seen them a hundred times but never got to hold one.

Let us know if he makes it.

Hey Rick, what do you use for nectar in those feeders. We have a couple hummers around here but we can't seem to keep the feeders full of anything they like.

WVMadMan

fill 1 quart container with 1 1/4 cane sugar. fill with water and shake like crazy.

normally it's 1 cup of cane sugar to 4 cups of water, but i give them a little extra sugar.

best to buy the glass contaianer i use that holds 32 ounces. pour in about half warm water, add the sugar and shake, then fill the feeder to the top.

i just went out to check out the baby after a couple of hours. he is not in the can i put under the feeder so he didn't fall. he is not on the feeder. the baby has flown away.

I'll give that a try and see how they like it. Glad to see he's flown the coop!

Try adding a little salt, pepper, Chives, and melted butter. Sautee until tender, serve warm..

J/K..
I have 2 feeders myself.

Rick, yesterday I saw a hummer in the huckleberry tree behind my patio. Well, I think it is huckleberry. Today I finally mounted a feeder on the back wall thinking I had missed a golden opportunity. I bought the feeder months ago. Within an hour a pretty, tiny hummer was sipping from every plastic flower. What a thrill.

Nice hummer.

My parents in IL have one of those hummer trees. I attracts quite a few and the kids enjoy watching them.

Rick, that is a very kind thing you did. I saw all the pics. Good job, hope the little guy makes it. Keep us posted.... :>)

Mag

I just saw a hummingbird in my back yard for the first time, yesterday. It hovered right over my wife's head... I swore it smiled at me....and flew off.

Tone,

I'm in IL also, do you know what kind of tree it is?

Nice series Rick. Glad to see you could bring it back from the brink.

did he pull thru?

he flew away when he was ready. i believe he made it and has a story to tell his grandchildren,

Nice story and series of pics Rick.

As an aside to those interested in feeding hummers, it's really important to clean your feeders regularly. In summertime heat, black mold grows on the feeders in just a couple of days. The birds get this on their tounges and it inhibits their ability to eat. Also, don't over do it with the sugar to water mixture. Too concentrated is not good for them. 4:1 is the best ratio and you should completely dissolve it by slightly boiling the water (not too much, as water will evaporate and change the concentration).

Sorry to proselytize, but migrating birds are one of my great passions.