My Pet Hummingbird

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My interest in humming birds has always been apparent but a few years ago at my moms house I got to see one up close and personal. My mom always had a beautiful flower garden and when we were out working it humming birds were always around. I remember having them buzz me when I wore bright colored shirts.

Mom had a picture window in the front of the house and in the summer months the window was always open. There was not a screen on the window and while sitting at the kitchen table one morning having my Joe a humming bird flew inside. At first I was not sure what it was and then my cat freaked out and caught it.

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I ran to the cat to get the bird out of her mouth and there was a little female ruby throat hummer. The poor thing was still alive but my kitten had broken one of her wings. I had no clue what to do but I knew if I put the bird outside then she would surely die because she could not fly.

I decided to keep her in a box in my room and put a feeder in the box  and she if she would live. I made many calls around the state to see if anyone knew how to care for this tiny little jewel but no one knew anything. The fish and game department would not even help me. They just made a point to let me know it was not legal to keep a hummingbird in captivity without a license.  Back then I had very limited information about the Internet and how to use it so it was me and the bird.

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To be honest before I became the care giver to this wonderful bird I thought they never stopped flapping their wings, but that I soon discovered that was not true. My little friend would sit on her feeder and look all around. She had to be one of the coolest animals I had ever encountered. I named her Flutter.

Every night when I would get home from work I would take her out and let her flutter about. She tried so hard to fly and was almost able to but could not stay airborne very long before she would tumble down. She was very friendly and used to come climb on my shoulder. It seemed to me she knew I was trying to help her.

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It was fascinating to watch her and when she ate her little tongue was so long and thin. Flutter would slurp the nectar from the feeder and soon after would calm down.

Her and I became good friends and people used to come just to see her. We both seemed to enjoy the attention. I tried my best to find information about how to keep her alive in captivity or to find someone who knew how to do this in my area but I never found anyone.

I kept this treasure alive for almost a year and one day when I woke up she had died. It was heart breaking for me to find her and I felt I had failed but I also thought about this beautiful bird having to live inside and not being able to fly. I guess she needed to go be with the rest of the hummingbirds in heaven.

After her passing someone told me that humming birds do not only eat nectar but they also need protein from insects. If only I had of known this when this first happened I would have found her bugs and maybe she still would have been a part of my life.

To this day I think about her and why she was brought to me. I guess maybe God thought I needed a friend. She graced me for almost a year and in that time I grew to love and cherish her. She was truly a remarkable treasure!