Hummingbird's New Home

I transported "Ruby" the hummingbird to his (or her...I forgot to find out!) new home at the Trevor Zoo in Millbrook. Everything I read online said I couldn't keep a hummingbird in captivity, so we found him a new home with some animal friends at the zoo.

He sat in his shoebox on a twig with his sugar water dispenser in front of him. I left the box lid open halfway so he could see what was going on. The ride didn't seem to phase him and he had a drink here and there when he wanted.

The director and assistant director were impressed by his calm nature. He doesn't peck at you if you reach for him and he'll sit on your finger and perch. He drinks out of a container and doesn't appear to be sickly...except for the damaged right wing.

They didn't think his wing would heal properly because it's been a week and it was still hung up a bit. He flaps and gets a few inches off the ground but he's not going anywhere. They'll probably show him to the students and groups there - he'd be a great classroom addition.

They're going to put him in the bird area and have the students make him a "highway" of sticks for him to perch on. He doesn't walk around and without flight, he's pretty immobile. I called it the hummingbird superhighway. I can't wait to see what they rigged.

I miss the little guy. It was nice to come home from work and sit with him on the deck. He'd just drink his little sugar water and look around and listen to the other birds. Who knew such a tiny thing would grab such a big piece of my heart?

I'm going to call early next week to see how it's all going...I hope he likes it there.