That Time I Saved a Hummingbird

When you do a search of the Hummingbird Capital of the world, guess what comes up?  That’s right Sierra Vista, Arizona. The state of Arizona also has the most Hummingbird species. Ramsey Canyon Preserve is a Nature Conservancy where birders come from all over the world to see all the different species that live here.

Hummingbirds have very tiny nest, just a little over one inch. The size of the nest can vary based on the species of hummingbird. They fill the nest with soft plant fibers. It only takes about two weeks for the eggs to hatch, and are about the size of a jellybean. The momma hummingbird will feed the hatchling for a while and then they are on their own.

Walking in a local Sierra Vista park, we saw a hummingbird sitting in her nest. Being careful not to disturb, we would look at it every day as we passed by. We were surprised at how quickly the egg hatched but we then got to enjoy seeing the baby hummingbird grow as the mom fed it. After another few weeks, the baby had flown away. From egg to empty nest was only about a month. (See pictures below.)

Another walk in the same park we found a hummingbird flailing on the ground with what we thought was a broken wing. We called around and found a number for the Tucson Wildlife Center who could help the bird. We took it to them and within a few days got a call that the bird was doing fine. Turns out the bird had a lot of sap on its wing and they were able to clean it up, get it fed and healthy. They released it after a full recovery.

The Tucson Wildlife Center phone number is (520) 290-9453