Posted By: Crowbar
Hummer - 04/25/24 05:32 PM
Bird variety...sorry.
My wife did something kind of amazing this morning. A few days ago I noticed a humming bird sitting on one of our feeders for a really long time. I went out on the porch to get a closer look and noticed a clump of something on its beak. I couldn't tell if it was a growth of some sort or what. We kept seeing it come and go and it seemed to be doing okay. We nicknamed it Lil Fatty because its feathers were always ruffled up like birds do during a cold snap, which we thought odd given it certainly hasn't been cold. Fast forward to this morning and the wife noticed Lil Fatty back on the feeder. This time though it seemed very lethargic and the other hummers weren't being the typical a-holes they normally are when jockeying for position at the feeders...they were all leaving this one alone and eating from other ones instead. The wife walked outside and the bird didn't fly off as she approached. She had a paper towel and was able to coax it off the feeder perch and into her hand. She took it inside for better light so she could examine its beak and discovered a fly or similar insect had been impaled upon it! She said the bug was basically glued to the beak so she put a drop of water and small piece of wetted paper towel on it. After a few minutes she was able to slide the insect off and return it to the feeder perch where it sat for several minutes and then began to eat....and slowly flutter its wings...and then finally defend the feeder from others if they got too close. LOL
Here is a photo after she removed the bug. She unfortunately did not take a before pic. You can see it is still all puffed up and looking pretty rough and the bump/blister on the beak where the bug had been lodged.
![[Linked Image]](https://texasfishingforum.com/forums/pics/userpics/2024/04/full-3612-222369-bird.jpg)
Here are the remains of the bug she removed.
![[Linked Image]](https://texasfishingforum.com/forums/pics/userpics/2024/04/full-3612-222370-bug.jpg)
Wife now reports the bird is now acting fine and is flying back and forth from feeder to a nearby oak on a regular basis now. She has always had a knack for this kind of thing. She will try and rehab just about anything she thinks is sick or suffering...probably explains how I lucked out with her as my bride? I thought about nicknaming her Snow White but thought better of it when the thought of being called Dopey in return seemed inevitable.
Anyway that's it for this episode of Wild Kingdom!
My wife did something kind of amazing this morning. A few days ago I noticed a humming bird sitting on one of our feeders for a really long time. I went out on the porch to get a closer look and noticed a clump of something on its beak. I couldn't tell if it was a growth of some sort or what. We kept seeing it come and go and it seemed to be doing okay. We nicknamed it Lil Fatty because its feathers were always ruffled up like birds do during a cold snap, which we thought odd given it certainly hasn't been cold. Fast forward to this morning and the wife noticed Lil Fatty back on the feeder. This time though it seemed very lethargic and the other hummers weren't being the typical a-holes they normally are when jockeying for position at the feeders...they were all leaving this one alone and eating from other ones instead. The wife walked outside and the bird didn't fly off as she approached. She had a paper towel and was able to coax it off the feeder perch and into her hand. She took it inside for better light so she could examine its beak and discovered a fly or similar insect had been impaled upon it! She said the bug was basically glued to the beak so she put a drop of water and small piece of wetted paper towel on it. After a few minutes she was able to slide the insect off and return it to the feeder perch where it sat for several minutes and then began to eat....and slowly flutter its wings...and then finally defend the feeder from others if they got too close. LOL
Here is a photo after she removed the bug. She unfortunately did not take a before pic. You can see it is still all puffed up and looking pretty rough and the bump/blister on the beak where the bug had been lodged.
Here are the remains of the bug she removed.
Wife now reports the bird is now acting fine and is flying back and forth from feeder to a nearby oak on a regular basis now. She has always had a knack for this kind of thing. She will try and rehab just about anything she thinks is sick or suffering...probably explains how I lucked out with her as my bride? I thought about nicknaming her Snow White but thought better of it when the thought of being called Dopey in return seemed inevitable.
Anyway that's it for this episode of Wild Kingdom!
Nice story Crowbar, thanks for sharing... 