Wash your hands BEFORE and after touching any bird.

 

If you have found a hummingbird that it is noticeably injured, contact a rescue organization promptly. Click here for map.

If you're not sure if the bird is injured, please use the guidelines below to help determine its condition and best course of action.

The hummingbird may require immediate nutritional support - an emergency elixir.

Hummingbirds may be temporarily housed in a ventilated box or paper bag. If the bird can perch, supply an appropriately sized twig. If it is a nestling, make a small nest from a paper towel:

DO NOT USE FABRIC as the bird's nails can become entangled.

Roll a paper towel diagonally and tie it in a knot. Fold over the loose ends
to form a ring. Place facial tissue over the top and create a depression.

Never place a hummingbird in a see-through glass container or aquarium.

 

 

 

 

 

EVALUATING A HUMMINGBIRD'S CONDITION

 

STEP ONE: Is the bird cold?

 

If the bird is cold to the touch, or its feathers are fluffed up, it may require warmth. Please see our instructions on providing supplemental heat.

 

STEP TWO: How old is the bird?

 

NESTLINGS are naked or partially feathered.

FLEDGLINGS are fully feathered with a few sprigs of down and a slightly smaller bill than an adult (see picture above).

Having popped out of the ridiculously small confines of its elasticized nest, a fledgling will spend a few days on the ground while its mother continues to care for it. Day by day, its flight muscles develop and the young bird gains command of its wings. A fledgling will be wary on approach by a predator (a human), but not as panic stricken as an adult.

 

 

STEP THREE: How you can help.

 

If it is a NESTLING

A warm, healthy nestling will be strong and active enough to peep and beg to be fed. If it's old enough to have its eyes open, they should appear bright and the bird, alert. If this is the case, a healthy nestling may be returned to its nest. If the nest is tattered, an artificial nest may be constructed.

If it is a FLEDGLING

A warm and healthy fledgling will be alert - eyes open, and it may 'peep' from time to time. If the bird appears weak, closing its eyes from time to time, offer it a few drops of warm hummingbird emergency elixir.

If you have found a healthy fledgling, it must be returned to where it was first observed to be reunited with its mother. It may be placed on the ground or in the open branches of a bush - a place where the mother can find it and hover above it easily.

If it is an ADULT

An adult hummingbird that has normal mobility of its legs and wings yet is grounded - unable to fly, may simply need a boost of energy. Supply the bird with a few drops of the hummingbird emergency elixir. Set the bird in a clean ventilated box or paper bag for about fifteen minutes. When you check on it again, do so OUTSIDE. If the bird is still 'down', offer more of the liquid energy. If the bird does not fly off, contact a rescue organization without delay. Click here to find contacts.