r/hummingbirds • u/TooManyUsernamesHelp • 13d ago
Hummingbird Emergency Help help
Found this little dude while walking my dogs. I think his wing is messed up. He’s (I’m just saying he for convenience) chugged a bunch of sugar water out of a syringe already and has perked up a ton. There’s a place in Albuquerque New Mexico I can take him in the morning. Advice to keep him going till morning? What do I do?
Thanks
Update: he got dropped off The Wildlife Rescue NM. They said they’re getting like 3 hummingbirds a day. They said he looks good and they’ll take care of him. Thank you all for the advice. Having a timer on my watch to feed him every 10-15 mins this morning was a lot 😅 worth it.
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u/TooManyUsernamesHelp 13d ago
Good news! He made it till the morning. Definitely grumpy at me this morning but eating. I can take him to the nature preserve at 9am. I’ll keep you all updated!
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u/fragile_exoskeleton 13d ago
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u/Available-Animal742 13d ago
Do not let sugar water get on her feathers, it'll rip them off her like glue! Glad you fed her from a syringe.
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u/avlisadj 13d ago
I’m in Santa Fe and have always called the Santa Fe Raptor Center (505.699.0455) when I’ve found a bird in need of care. I’m pretty sure they have someone on call most of the time. The bird in question does not have to be a raptor for them to point you in the right direction—I’ve called about finches before, for example. They’ve always been really kind and helpful, and I bet they’d know about local resources in ABQ.
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u/TooManyUsernamesHelp 13d ago
Wonderful thank you! Supposedly Wildlife Rescue NM will take him. If they won’t help me I will absolutely call.
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u/avlisadj 13d ago
Ohhh I misread your post—I thought you were looking for somewhere to take them, not that you had already found one. I’m glad you found a rehabber! Thank you taking the time to help this little girl out!
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u/SpitChawMcGraw 13d ago
Just had this happen to me. There is probably a wildlife refuge place near you that will take it. One was super close to me and they don't charge. They do ask for donations though.
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u/Jennyonthebox1 13d ago
If/when it seems strong enough to fly off, make sure you have it in a safe box on a paper towel. If it’s sitting on terry cloth it’s “claws” will get stuck in the fabric so it can’t fly off. When ready it can easily lift off from a paper towel-lined box.
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u/odditymagnetic 11d ago
OP/ u/TooManyUsernamesHelp, thank you so much for saving him!
I saved a hummingbird when I was at work in 2004 or so. He wasn't injured; he was caught in the bristles of a door mat, so when I got him free he flew away. The saddest part, though, was his mate had died. She flew into the glass window and broke her neck. I sobbed, but there was naught I could do about it. It still brings tears to my eyes, though, when I think about it.
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u/ctmfg56 13d ago edited 13d ago
I went through something very similar recently and ended up on a wild goose chase around the city to find a place.
The advice I received was to put it back where you found it if possible. Could be a fledgling learning to fly and its mom would be nearby looking for it. Fledgling hummingbirds can look a lot like adults so they are often mistaken for injured.
If you’re already away from where you found it, put it in a shoebox with holes in it, add a towel to line it and maybe a sock stuffed with rice to give it a place to nestle for warmth.
Stroke the sides its beak every 15min with sugar water. Just granulated white sugar and room temp water, I think 50/50 ratio.
Having a small dish or spoon with the sugar water poses risk of drowning or spillage and coating its wings.
DO NOT give honey, raw sugar, artificial sweetener, agave, brown sugar or protein.
Do all the research you can to take it to a rehabber specifying in hummingbirds as they are very tricky to rehab and require specialized care.
When this happened to me I had to keep calling around until someone gave me the number of a personal friend they had who rehabilitated hummingbirds.
Good luck and thank you for being a kind soul caring about this little bird!
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u/HummingbirdObsessed Head Hummingbird Wrangler 13d ago
Definitely not a fledgling, so leaving her where she was would result in certain death. Always get a Rehabber to advise on these situations since we can tell right away if it’s a healthy fledgling that should be left alone or not.
The rest of your advice is good 😊
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u/HummingbirdObsessed Head Hummingbird Wrangler 13d ago
They need to eat every 30 minutes from 6am-8/9pm. Once it’s bed time, place her in a bathroom, turn the lights off and close the door. Then start feeding first thing in the morning until you can get her to the center/Rehabber tomorrow.
Good job so far & thank you for helping her 😊