Danielle,
You could email Bill Hilton at Hilton Ponds. He has banded over 57,000
hummingbirds and is pretty much an expert. What you are experiencing is the
hummingbird's tendency to find the highest point. This leads to one method
for capturing hummingbirds, placing a feeder inside a cage with the entrance
low on the cage. The bird will enter the cage but will fly to the highest
point in the cage - unable to figure out the exit.
He has recommendations for trapped hummers.
1. I left my garage door open this morning and there's been a hummingbird
caught inside all day. How can I get it out without hurting it?
In their endless pursuit of food, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (Archilochus
colubris) often go where they probably shouldn't! If one gets caught in your
garage or on your screen porch, leave the door open and hang a hummingbird
feeder in the open door. This may be enough to help the bird find its way
out. If this doesn't work, a butterfly net can be used to carefully snag the
bird so it can be gently released outside. You can also try holding a
long-handled mop up toward the hummer; sometimes the bird will perch on the
mop and you can lower it down. If none of these techniques work, contact
your local wildlife rehabilitator for further instructions. A list of
rehabilitators in the United States, Canada, and some other countries is at:
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/contact.htm.
If the hummingbird is exhausted from its efforts to escape and you have it
in hand, you should try to feed it before releasing it. Instructions for how
to do this are under "Injured Hummingbirds."
Hummingbirds may enter a garage because they see the device used to manually
close the door; invariably this is a rope from which hangs a RED handle, and
this may attract the hummingbird's attention. We suggest you spray paint the
handle BLACK.
The web site is:
http://www.rubythroat.org/QuestionsCaught01.html
You could contact him for more info if you wish.
Regards,
Sid Stivland
Plymouth, MN
-----Original Message-----
From: Danielle McLaughlin
Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2012 11:27 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [mou-net] hummer trapped in barn-day 2-advice?
Hello All-
A hummingbird is trapped in my barn and is still very distressed today.
She is fixated on the peak running the whole length of the barn, as it's a
skylight and she seems to be trying to find a way out through it instead of
through the large door at both ends. I had put a feeder up in the barn
yesterday, and did observe her feeding one time. I assume that she visits
it regularly or she wouldn't have survived this long....
My only thought was to progressively lower the feeder hoping that she get a
clear view out the doors, or go and buy several more and hang them stepwise
lower and try to lead her out. She's very focused on looking up to that
skylight unfortunately.
Any suggestions are appreciated!
Cheers,
Danielle M.
Hugo, Washington County
----
Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net
Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
----
Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net
Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
