Thank you all for the wonderful advice and contacts! Thankfully the bird has (apparently) made it outside--as I checked the barn and hayloft for a body and could not find one. I will have to work out the best plan for the future-as I'm sure this won't be the last time it happens...
The barn is too tall for us to climb up and cover the skylights--and we would not be able to secure anything up there either. I've completed some pretty perilous rescues in the past but climbing out on barn rafters doesn't look so fun or easy anymore... Looks like I'd better get a hummer rescue kit together : ) Does anyone know where I can purchase a butterfly net? My horse has red buckets, so that might have been what lured the bird in. I'll be sure to switch them out. The feeder is back on my front porch where it belongs--hope I see some feeding at dusk. Cheers, Danielle Hugo, Washington County On Tue, Jun 26, 2012 at 2:55 PM, Sid Stivland <[email protected]>wrote: > 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<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<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<http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net> > Archives: > http://lists.umn.edu/archives/**mou-net.html<http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html> > ---- > Join or Leave mou-net: > http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/**wa?SUBED1=mou-net<http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net> > Archives: > http://lists.umn.edu/archives/**mou-net.html<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
