Whereas in years past we have typically found a single nest precariously perched amongst our tropical foliage, this year we have located four. Yes, you read that right. And I'm not convinced we're done yet. Just last week, I found our fourth nest with an egg secured snugly within its cottony folds (of course, it is built on another flimsy palm frond hanging low right by the garage. Oy.)
Nature being what it is, however, unfortunately we have not been able to witness all those babies fly away. Case in point: the first nest of the season was built in late February. By early March, when we were just beginning to see the beaks of two feathery chicks peeking out, a freak strong rainstorm hit, with matching winds. The next morning I was devastated to see the birds on the ground as we were leaving for school. There was no doubt of their condition. Jim, our pool guy/family friend was kind enough to help out and take them away while Lauren was at school. I was more upset about it than I could have imagined. For that to happen at our home, our sacred space, it just didn't seem right.
Fast forward to two weekends ago, right after my park date with Lauren and Joe, and dinner with KK. It had turned uncharacteristically chilly, with breezy conditions to boot. After pulling into the driveway, KK opened her car door and what emerged from her lungs can only be described as a healthy scream.
There, on the concrete, was a nest with a hatched hummingbird in it. And another chick on the ground next to it. The only difference between these birds and the ones from the month before? They were alive. It was amazing because the trees that tower over the spot where the nest had fallen are incredibly tall - giant birds of paradise and enormous palms. So they must have survived a fall of at least 12-15 feet.
So, what did we do? Sprung into action, that's what. We knew there was no way to get the nest back up into the tree, it was simply too high. So we thought the next best thing would be to put it in the planter area below the trees where the mama bird might at least have a shot of locating it to feed her babies. I found an empty Nordstrom jewelry box and we lined it with cotton pads, then placed the nest inside with one of the birds, and gingerly placed the other bird next to the nest on top of the cotton. Even though both birds must have been in the nest before the fall, it didn't seem possible to fit them both back in there without tearing it apart.
Joe and KK went home and Lauren and I retired to the house.
Of course, being who I am, I just couldn't leave it at that. I tucked Lauren in, then Googled what to do with hummingbird babies who have fallen from their nests, hoping to find at least one link that might be relevant. Holy moly. There was an entire treasure trove of information and advice, including everything from blogs to websites to YouTube demonstrations.
The top two directives?
1. If you can't get the nest back into the tree and it is cold outside, do not, under any circumstances, leave the birds outside. Without their mama's bodies to keep them warm and feed them every 30 minutes prior to 10 p.m. or so, they would most certainly perish.
Uh oh.
2. Do not, under any circumstances, place them in anything lined with cotton. Apparently their little feet get caught in the material and they become trapped so won't be able to fly even if they are of an age where they are ready to.
Uh oh again.
So after digesting as much as I could in a 10-minute time span, my mothering instinct kicked in full force and I ran outside to rescue dem babies.
Out went the cotton and in went facial tissue. Both birds were then placed in an empty shoebox.
Then I had to feed them. Oh yes. Sugar water from a medicine dropper. The little guy outside the nest had his eyes peeled and opened his beak as wide as could be to accept the nectar. I was so happy to see that liquid visibly coursing down his throat. His sibling in the nest, however, kept his eyes closed and wouldn't open his beak. Argh.
Through my research, I was led to the website for a wildlife rescue organization in Orange County, which, yes, included hummingbirds. The wildlife center was of course closed on Sat night and on Sundays, but the site provided an emergency email address. Knowing it was a long shot, I shot them an email about our discovery, pleading with someone to call me immediately.
Within 30 minutes, at 8:45 p.m., the phone rang. On a Saturday night, people. Now that's what I call dedication. The volunteer who called gave me the phone number for a woman in Orange County who rescues hummingbirds. I immediately called her, only to learn that she was no longer doing rescues. Can't blame her really. She was 91 years old. After turning up her hearing aid and lecturing me on everything I was doing wrong with the birds, she referred me to her good friend Joan who probably would help me out. Did I mention that Joan lives in a city more than 45 minutes away?
I'm sure you can understand that by now, I was attached. Or just plain stubborn. Perhaps it was both. In the back of my mind, I kept thinking how much I wanted to show Lauren that once you commit to something, don't give up unless you absolutely have to. And we were nowhere near "absolutely have to" yet.
So at 9:15 p.m., I called Joan. Who, thank goodness, wasn't 91 years of age. She was only a mere 85. But feisty as all get-out. She told me I could bring the birds to her home that very night. Except I had a 7-year-old sound asleep. So she gave me detailed instructions and said that if either of the birds made it through the night, that she would be awake as early as 5:30 a.m. to welcome them into her open arms.
I had a feeling our little nest bird might not make it. He had yet to open his eyes or take food. Sure enough, by 11 p.m., he had gone to hummingbird heaven. So I gave him a proper goodbye and moved the other bird (named "Fuzzy" by Lauren) into the confines of the nest. Poked some air holes in the top of the shoebox, gave Fuzzy one last gulp of sugar water, and went to sleep.
At 6:30 a.m. on Sunday morning, Lauren and I held our collective breaths as we removed the top of the shoebox. We were greeted with a still and quiet image. My heart sank. As I reached in to touch the nest, Fuzzy's eyes and beak simultaneously sprung open. Dude was alive. And hungry. YES!!!!!
Within 10 minutes, everyone was fed and in the car, on our way to LA and an unknown adventure.
Fuzzy sat right next to Lauren, under her watchful eye, during the entire drive.
Joan greeted us at the door in her housecoat and ushered us in as if we were entering a clandestine operation. Which is exactly what it looked like. The house was full to the gills with nothing but hummingbirds (save an enormous, loud and very obnoxious cockatoo she had rescued 18 years ago - did you know cockatoos can live up to 100 years?!)
I wanted to take tons of photos with my phone, but Joan would not allow it. She was adamant about not wanting to be identified. Turns out that she has been rescuing hummingbirds for 26 years. Which is perfectly legal, but Fish and Wildlife had apparently told her that her collection of abandoned, pristine hummingbird nests that she uses to house the babies that come in without one is a felony. Wha?? I promptly gave her my business card and told her to call me if anyone ever tried to charge her with anything for utilizing a nest. Now that's a pro bono case I could really wrap my teeth around.
She first fed Fuzzy with a special formula she told us came from Europe. Oh yes, this woman's a professional.
Because Fuzzy's nest had been pulled out of shape, Joan immediately took one of her spare nests and put it in a plastic cup (for size reference, the cup is just like the salsa cups you get at Rubio's), then lifted Fuzzy with her fingers and nestled him right in.
[Rockin' blue housecoat in partial view]
Fuzzy then joined the other fledglings, where we were told he would stay for at least a week.
The unbelievable thing is that these young'uns need to be fed every 30 minutes during the day. So how does Joan go anywhere (even 85-year-olds need to get out of the house)? Simple. She brings them with her. Takes them in a carrying case. She said her doctors, dentist, heck every place she visits knows that when her timer goes off every 30 minutes, she needs to stop and give those babies some nourishment. Can you imagine????? For 26 years and counting!! Did I mention Joan is married? Her husband is either a saint or she's got mad skills we can't mention on a family friendly blog.
I was not able to take any additional pictures, but Lauren and I received a tour with detailed tutorial as to how Joan nurses the hummingbirds and teaches them how to fly and feed. She likened the entire process to them being in school.
After the baby area, the birds are moved to "grade school", where they learn to use the feeders by themselves and begin fluttering their wings. She had approximately 20 birds in these cages.
After that, they are moved to "high school", where they learn to stand on perches which replicate tree branches. There appeared to be around 15 birds at this level. Each night, Joan puts them on a branch and in the morning, if they were able to stay on the branch (apparently they sleep all night), they get a black sticker. If the are found on the bottom of the cage instead, they get a red sticker. It takes 3 black stickers in a row before they can graduate and move on to "college". OMG, right?
College is in a back bedroom of the house, where each bird gets their own larger cage (she said as they get older, they tend not to get along with each other) with their own feeder. If the weather is nice, each morning those cages are brought into her backyard so they can acclimate to the outdoors. I counted approximately 20 cages in this bedroom.
The final stage before being set free is "graduate school." Joan has built an enclosed aviary off the side of her house with small trees. She adds her own fruit flies to the aviary (that's what the adults eat!) This really simulates their natural habitat and they stay in the aviary for at least a week until she feels confident they are ready to venture out on their own. The aviary was undergoing some work so no birds were in it while we were there.
As a general rule, the average time between rescue by Joan and release is anywhere from 3-5 weeks. Amazing, isn't it?!
We were with Joan for about an hour. Lauren's mouth hung open with each new area we were shown (as did mine). We received more of an education than those birds will ever have. And as much work as it was for us (er, me), knowing we were saving a life felt awesome. We really did perform a mitzvah, and sharing that lesson with my daughter was incredibly special.
Of course, Lauren became very sad after we left - she said she was going to miss Fuzzy sooooo much. She wanted to know if we could please come back to visit him very soon. I let her know that I didn't think we would be able to differentiate Fuzzy from all the other hummingbirds, but if she wants to take another drive on the 405 in the not-too-distant future to visit our new friend Joan, I'll be more than happy to oblige.
Under one condition, however, She's not allowed to get any ideas about starting a hummingbird rescue in our home. I'm quite satisfied with the single fledgling we're already raising and the education she's receiving, thank you very much. And as cute as they are, the retirement I'm in the process of planning certainly doesn't contemplate carrying a bag of birds everywhere I go.
She first fed Fuzzy with a special formula she told us came from Europe. Oh yes, this woman's a professional.
Because Fuzzy's nest had been pulled out of shape, Joan immediately took one of her spare nests and put it in a plastic cup (for size reference, the cup is just like the salsa cups you get at Rubio's), then lifted Fuzzy with her fingers and nestled him right in.
Fuzzy then joined the other fledglings, where we were told he would stay for at least a week.
The unbelievable thing is that these young'uns need to be fed every 30 minutes during the day. So how does Joan go anywhere (even 85-year-olds need to get out of the house)? Simple. She brings them with her. Takes them in a carrying case. She said her doctors, dentist, heck every place she visits knows that when her timer goes off every 30 minutes, she needs to stop and give those babies some nourishment. Can you imagine????? For 26 years and counting!! Did I mention Joan is married? Her husband is either a saint or she's got mad skills we can't mention on a family friendly blog.
I was not able to take any additional pictures, but Lauren and I received a tour with detailed tutorial as to how Joan nurses the hummingbirds and teaches them how to fly and feed. She likened the entire process to them being in school.
After the baby area, the birds are moved to "grade school", where they learn to use the feeders by themselves and begin fluttering their wings. She had approximately 20 birds in these cages.
After that, they are moved to "high school", where they learn to stand on perches which replicate tree branches. There appeared to be around 15 birds at this level. Each night, Joan puts them on a branch and in the morning, if they were able to stay on the branch (apparently they sleep all night), they get a black sticker. If the are found on the bottom of the cage instead, they get a red sticker. It takes 3 black stickers in a row before they can graduate and move on to "college". OMG, right?
College is in a back bedroom of the house, where each bird gets their own larger cage (she said as they get older, they tend not to get along with each other) with their own feeder. If the weather is nice, each morning those cages are brought into her backyard so they can acclimate to the outdoors. I counted approximately 20 cages in this bedroom.
The final stage before being set free is "graduate school." Joan has built an enclosed aviary off the side of her house with small trees. She adds her own fruit flies to the aviary (that's what the adults eat!) This really simulates their natural habitat and they stay in the aviary for at least a week until she feels confident they are ready to venture out on their own. The aviary was undergoing some work so no birds were in it while we were there.
As a general rule, the average time between rescue by Joan and release is anywhere from 3-5 weeks. Amazing, isn't it?!
We were with Joan for about an hour. Lauren's mouth hung open with each new area we were shown (as did mine). We received more of an education than those birds will ever have. And as much work as it was for us (er, me), knowing we were saving a life felt awesome. We really did perform a mitzvah, and sharing that lesson with my daughter was incredibly special.
Of course, Lauren became very sad after we left - she said she was going to miss Fuzzy sooooo much. She wanted to know if we could please come back to visit him very soon. I let her know that I didn't think we would be able to differentiate Fuzzy from all the other hummingbirds, but if she wants to take another drive on the 405 in the not-too-distant future to visit our new friend Joan, I'll be more than happy to oblige.
Under one condition, however, She's not allowed to get any ideas about starting a hummingbird rescue in our home. I'm quite satisfied with the single fledgling we're already raising and the education she's receiving, thank you very much. And as cute as they are, the retirement I'm in the process of planning certainly doesn't contemplate carrying a bag of birds everywhere I go.
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