Yesterday I came home to a sad sight with my hummingbirds.
There on one of the feeders was a hummingbird
hanging upside down!
I gasped!!
Ran into the house and literally dropped my arm full of things
and ran back out side to help this little guy.
It appeared to me that he was not alive,
but I could not get his tiny feet to budge from the feeder.
As I began to try and release him I could see his tail feathers slightly moving
and thought, wonderful, he's alive!
I managed to break him free and place him on my finger,
but his breathing was very shallow...
I ran into the house and got a glass of sugar water
and placed his beak into the water...Nothing...
He wouldn't even open his beak.
On my way home I was singing the hymn " Higher Ground"
so the tune was fresh in my mind.
I love to make up songs to other tunes
and so I began to sing a song to this little guy to that tune.
~*~
These were the words I was singing to the chorus of Higher Ground:
Lord give this bird the strength to fly,
I know You can, I'm begging You,
It's all I ask of You dear Lord.
Lord lift him up to higher ground.
~*~
This may seem strange, but as I sang to that little guy
he became stronger...
His wings began to flutter,
in fact, strong enough that I could feel the
wind from them on my face.
There was hope...
He even opened his eyes a little bit...
I cried...I prayed...I sang...and I placed his beak in the water
for two hours straight...
What was so odd was that he never opened his beak
or placed his tongue in the water.
~*~
During the two hours I sat on the front deck
doing all that I could think of to save this little guy
I had the blessed opportunity to examine closely
this beautiful creation of God.
The feathers were amazing in color and size,
his feet were like Velcro clutching my finger
and so tiny to the touch.
Hummingbirds are so quick that
you never really get a chance to see them close up.
But for me...What a blessing!
It was a bitter-sweet experience.
~*~
~*~
During the two hours I sat on the front deck
doing all that I could think of to save this little guy
I had the blessed opportunity to examine closely
this beautiful creation of God.
The feathers were amazing in color and size,
his feet were like Velcro clutching my finger
and so tiny to the touch.
Hummingbirds are so quick that
you never really get a chance to see them close up.
But for me...What a blessing!
It was a bitter-sweet experience.
~*~
At 11:00 last evening he died in the sweet little nest I had prepared for him.
He didn't make it.
God's ways are not our ways are they?
What happened????
We may never know.
My dear Stephanie looked up on line
why hummingbirds hang upside down.
Turns out, there is something called "tongue-fungal- infection" in hummingbirds
and it can be fatal.
It is caused by not washing the feeders, or letting the sugar water sit in the sun too long.
I have always been so careful about these things.
Was it me? Did this little guy catch it at another feeder?
Questions I may never know the answers to.
I am sharing this with you so you can be warned of the fatal outcome
that can happen to these precious hummingbirds.
Here is the link that Stephanie went to.
I hope it helps you to better know how to care for your birds.
~*~
Dear Heavenly Father.
This is the day which You have made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Many things come our way,
things we are not always ready for,
but You, O Lord, are in control of it all.
Praise Your Holy Name!
This is the day which You have made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Many things come our way,
things we are not always ready for,
but You, O Lord, are in control of it all.
Praise Your Holy Name!
Amen.
~Be Blessed~
Debbie
