rescued hummingbird

Last year we had some exciting bird moments, I talked about a few of them here. I was so thrilled to discover the tiny little hummingbird nest with the tiny little eggs nestled inside. But a couple of nights later, the momma hummingbird was flying around our outdoor light, banging herself against it over and over again, seeming to be so distressed and confused. We turned off the light and she continued to fly into the patio ceiling, over and over again. She never returned to the nest and I felt so guilty, feeling that perhaps she had panicked, because I had noticed her nest in the plant by the front door.

It has been such a mild winter this year that we see hummingbirds flying around occasionally. Recently, one evening we came home after dark and as we were walking up to the door a hummingbird was zipping around, banging itself into the light fixture. Imagine what a moth looks like when it flies into a light bulb, over and over again. That is what these hummingbirds look like. We can't understand why they do this, as if they have gotten lost after dark and just fly towards the light. Even after turning off the lights, it just keeps hitting itself against the ceiling or wall, the same way the one last summer did until we presumed it beat itself to death. Anyway, this little one was just beating itself against the fixture and the ceiling over and over again. We felt bad for it. So bad, that the Reptile Wrangler (not a fitting name in this instance but I'll go with it) went to the garage and got a little net. I went in the house to get my camera.

Here is a blurry photo of the hummingbird flying up and hitting the ceiling:

So, he caught the little cutie in the net and took it out out the open area of the patio and released it onto a bush. It immediately flew back to the light and repeated to hit itself against the light. We were so disappointed. We turned the lights down to a very low setting and he netted it again. This time, he gently took it out of the net, untangling its little feet and carefully put it into Leah's hands. We walked to the gate, pausing a moment to get a couple of picture's. This time, hoping to give the bird a moment to calm down.
It sat very calmly in her hands, not flying away, seeming to realize we were trying to save it.
She was so overwhelmed, and in her words... humbled, to be able to hold such a small little featherweight creature in the palm of her hands.
Look how beautifully (sorry for the blur) the feathers under its neck glow in the light.

So very iridescent.
She loved the moment that she looked down at the little bird and it seemed to look up at her. Then we turned the lights off and she raised her hands and the hummingbird flew off.
This time it flew the right way, out into the night sky. We felt good.

We saved the little hummingbird.