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Operation Hummingbird

There are always tons of hummingbirds on the mountain in Ruidoso where my mom and stepdad spend their summers.  My boys love watching them but are always careful to not get to close and never to touch the tiny treasures.
We found a broken hummingbird on the side of our walking trail.  It was breathing shallowly but could not fly.  My tender-hearted firstborn insisted that we try to save the tiny bird.  We used my iPhone to look up how to save a hummingbird and started every-30-minute feedings.  Here, Trey takes the first feeding time.
Joshua follows the online advice of keeping the bird warm and close to your heart.
The boys even created a soft bed for the bird when it was time for "torpor."  They worked so hard and tried with all their hearts to save the little bird.
Time for another feeding ... the hummingbird really perked up each time he was fed.  Unfortunately, the bird did not make it through the night.  Despite the best efforts of our young heroes, the bird had stopped breathing before morning.
The boys insisted upon a proper ceremony and burial.  Rest in peace, little bird.

P.S.  Later we read that it's not actually legal to hold a hummingbird in the United States so we won't do that again but hopefully local law enforcement officials will look kindly on my babies' loving hearts.
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Comments

  1. AnonymousJuly 23, 2011 at 3:40 PM

    That is so precious and sweet! What a testament to you as a Mom to have such caring and compassionate boys!! So sweet! I had no idea it was illegal to hold a hummingbird.. my goofy father-in-law prides himself on catching hummingbirds in his hand.. it always scares me because they are just such little creatures! Well now I'll have to tell him that it's against the law! ;)

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  2. NikkiJuly 24, 2011 at 11:13 AM

    How sweet of your boys to try and help! So sweet!

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJuly 26, 2011 at 5:50 PM

    One of our cats caught a baby blue jay in my garden recently. We put it on the branch of a tree and hoped that its parents would come back again. They eventually did! My younger brother found a bird with a broken wing and tried to nurse it back to health, but it died the morning after he found it. He was sad. :(

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