Have you ever tried to catch a hummingbird?

Seriously - have you ever tried to catch a hummingbird? This morning I had the opportunity to practice this fine art. And, let me tell you, it is not easy trying to catch one of these things! They are also not the smartest birds - beautiful, but no brains in that wee little head!

It began when I opened the doors to our screened in deck; apparently, when I let the dogs out, I left the door to the outside open. I was playing with O and I kept hearing this banging noise behind the sofa by the printer. Then our little Jack Russell Terrier, Sparky, started acting nuts. He was running around acting crazy - usually this means one of two things - a thunderstorm is coming or a creature is in his space. Since we've had a lot of storms over the last week, I just ignored him. After 15 minutes I went to investigate.

This is what I found - a hummingbird beating himself to death at my window in the living room trying to get out. Somehow he not only got on the deck but then into the house. This is NOT the first time this has happened, so I knew I was in for a long struggle to get him out. On several occasions we've had to let them die, b/c they just don't want to cooperate; or,perhaps, they don't understand you're trying to help them.

At any rate - this is how you catch a hummingbird inside your house:

Grab a strainer/colander and a flat surface object (I use a cutting board!). When the land, place the strainer over the bird (mind you this is a slow process). Slide the strainer to the edge and have the cutting board ready - the bird/colander should slide right onto the cutting board making a make-shift "trap". Take the bird outside, lift the colander and fly, birdy fly. This whole process can take be as short as 15 minutes or as long as all day -just depends on how rambunctious your bird is. Warning: it can be dangerous, funny, maddening and wild all at the same time.

I tried to get a picture of my adventure this morning but with a crying baby, a wild acting dog, a loose hummingbird and the phone ringing - it just wasn't possible. I can multi-task with the best of them, but that was just too much!

Poor Sparky, no hummingbird snack today.

In His Grip,
Kandi :0)