The Tiny Visitor

I'd had a busy day. As I climbed the hill to the house my mind was filled with the vegetables and fish I planned to cook for dinner. On my way to the kitchen I heard a very loud buzzing. Bumble bee on steroids? I backed up and listened. What?

With a certain amount of trepidation, I walked into the living room, and the buzzing started again. I recognized the sound at the same time I saw the tiny bird hovering in a high window. A hummingbird had found her way in, and couldn't find her way out. What to do? She's high, she's fast. A net.

Another trip down the hill to get my bird net, and I was ready. I was still hoping to talk her out of the house, so I put the dogs out and opened the front door. As I walked back into the living room she darted past me, stopped briefly at the Christmas Cactus to sip some nectar, and zoomed into the bedroom - where she tasted some more flowers before fluttering into the window.

I grabbed my camera. What would be cooler than a picture of a hummingbird sampling my tame, indoor cactus? Unfortunately the little girl was camera shy, and darted out as soon as I got close enough for a picture. A couple trips later, she was really tired out.


She hovered again as I approached, and I managed to get a quick picture.


It was heartbreaking to see such a small and beautiful creature so exhausted. I carefully covered her with the net, and even more carefully picked her up.


I had to wait for her to recover before I could let her loose. I grabbed the closest flowering cactus, put a drop of water on my hand above her beak, and went out on the porch.


It turns out it's quite difficult to take a good picture with one's left hand while holding a tiny treasure in the right hand. All my photos are fuzzy, but they do show her brilliant feathers. I'm pretty sure this is a Rufous Hummingbird. She did revive and flew off at speed. Blessings, little jewel, and thank you for letting me share your life for a few moments.