Laurens Wildlife Rescue
  • Home
  • I found a wild baby - what do I do?
  • How can I help?
  • Contact us
  • FAQ
  • This week in wildlife

Meet Engelbird Hummerdinck!

4/17/2011

1 Comment

 
Picture
Go ahead, groan, but how could I resist that name for a ruby-throated hummingbird?!  Since his name is bigger than he is, we’ll just call him Dinky for short. Dinky came in with a probable broken right wing; x-rays were inconclusive since we had to set the exposure very low so as not to administer a lethal dose of radiation to the “leetle feller.”


Picture
He’d been taken away from a cat (cue standard “indoor-only cats can’t kill birds” rant here…you’ve read it enough in previous posts) several days before I received him; the finder couldn’t get anyone to answer her calls until she got hold of Steve Hicks of Bubba and Friends raptor rehab (www.bubba-and-friends.org). Steve rehabs raptors exclusively, but since he was headed my way the next day to pick up the osprey from the last update, he agreed to take the bird and bring him to me when he came.


Picture
Since hummers need to eat every 20 minutes because of their high metabolisms, I was delighted that  Dinky was self-feeding. He has been happily slurping a special nectar designed for use in rehab settings, which contains all the nutrients hummers need that normal hummer nectar doesn’t contain.  In other words, don’t try this at home, boys and girls! In addition to the fact that it’s illegal without the proper state and federal permits, there’s also the fact that hummers are high-maintenance birds and difficult to rehab.


Picture
He may be unreleasable because of that right wing; we’ll have to wait and see. He can flutter it quite well but can get no lift. In the meantime, Dinky is a nosy rascal who often appears to be challenging me: he cocks his little head and flashes his red throat while jealously guarding his “stash” of rehab nectar. Yeah, like I want to drink it; it doesn’t smell all that appetizing to this non-hummer! 


Picture
Birds in general are amazing, but hummers are especially so. I mean, stop and realize that something so tiny—weighing only a tenth of an ounce, two tenths at the outside—that must eat every 20 minutes to survive, crosses the Gulf of Mexico or hugs the Texas coast each fall, a 500-mile trip that takes nearly 24 hours to complete, to reach their wintering territory. Most hummers don’t survive their first year; those that do have an average life expectancy of 3-4 years. They’re pretty awesome little birds!


Picture
LWR also had another osprey come in this past week, this one with matching wing injuries. He had infected, draining spots on both wings below the wrists. We have no clue how he was originally injured; our initial guess was gunshot, but when vet Shelley Baumann of Smalley’s Animal Hospital x-rayed him, there was no lead and there were no broken bones, so it’s anybody’s guess. He’s on antibiotics and will be headed to Bubba and Friends soon.


Picture
And just today, we received seven young possums, about three months old. (Trust me, there are 7 in there; they’re in a big pile!) Their mother had been hit by a car, but the finders kept the babies for a week, feeding them only once a day, before getting them to LWR this afternoon. They’re severely malnourished as a result, and the jury’s still out on their fate. I’m hoping they respond well to regular feedings of a proper diet, but we’ll have to see.


The squirrels are moving into release phase and have gotten very camera-shy, so no photos of them this week. I’ll see if I can sneak a few for the next update, but they’re pretty sharp bushy-tails and scurry for cover when they see the camera!

1 Comment
Judy Warmack
5/12/2011 07:26:36 pm

Enjoyed reading about the animals that you have rescued. Always sad to read about those that didn't make it. I'm very interested to know if you will continue to keep the little hummingbird if he is unable to be released or place him in a different facility? I have not been successful in finding a facility willing to take non-releasable high maintenance hummers in Southern Georgia.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009
    October 2009
    September 2009
    August 2009
    July 2009
    June 2009
    May 2009
    April 2009
    March 2009
    February 2009
    January 2009
    December 2008
    November 2008
    October 2008
    September 2008
    August 2008
    July 2008
    June 2008
    May 2008
    April 2008

    Categories

    All
    Baby Birds
    Baby Deer
    Baby Opossums
    Baby Possums
    Baby Rabbits
    Bluegray Gnatcatchers
    Carolina Wren
    Common Loons
    Epd
    Fawns
    House Finch
    Mbta
    Migratory Bird Treaty Act
    Mockers
    Mockingbirds
    Orphaned Birds
    Orphaned Deer
    Orphaned Fawns
    Orphaned Opossums
    Orphaned Possums
    Orphaned Rabbits
    Orphaned Wildlife
    Squirrels
    Wildlife
    Wood Ducks

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.