Listen in as we explore the fascinating world of the hummingbird – the only bird that can truly hover.
Follow the hummingbird migration at hummingbirdcentral.com. Learn how to make your own hummingbird nectar without red dye at nationalzoo.si.edu.
Photo by John Howard
I really enjoy the podcast, guys. Very informative.
Many times, I have had hummingbirds get trapped in my garage having flown in an open garage door. Yet with garage doors will be open they are unable to figure out how to get out. They just buzz around near the ceiling occasionally resting on the garage door tracks. I have had some success in freeing them by catching them in a butterfly net, but that is quite difficult and there is a risk that I will hurt them in the attempt. However, if I don’t do anything, they will eventually die in the garage.
1.) Is there a biological or behavioral explanation as to why they won’t just fly back out the door?… and…. 2) Can you recommend any other method of helping them get out of the garage?
Thanks.
My observation is that unlike some other birds, for most hummingbirds “up and away” is how they escape conflict situations. Also if there is any other sources of light in the garage I would recommend it be eliminated – turn off all overhead lights and cover any windows which provide bright light. I would also add a red hummingbird feeder within line of sight from where the hummer is perched (this might be fairly low to the ground and close to the entry point). Hopefully it will lead the hummer away and not attract additional hummers to compound the situation.
We used to have hummingbirds occasionally get into the Cincinnati Nature Center’s visitor center. The problem there was that we had a skylight at the highest point of that building so the hummers would naturally go there and try to escape. Due to the height, there were no nets involved at all. We just had to place a staff or volunteer to watch them and as soon as their blood sugar level dropped and they could no longer fly from exhaustion, we would have a hummingbird feeder ready and pick up the hummer and plug its beak directly into the feeder as we walked outside with it. They always drank readily from the sugar water solution (4 parts water to 1 part sugar, boiled until sugar melts) After a few minutes it would recover completely and fly off, but we made sure it had fed repeatedly first.
I hope this is of some help. One last thought … is there anything that is attracting the hummers toward the garage? Maybe an American flag by the door (with showy red stripes), some red garden flowers, or even a child’s red tricycle? If so consider some alternatives to make the garage less attractive to your hummers. They really like the color red!
Best of luck!
Bill