Artie came in the house today with his normal successful hunt meow. When I turned around to see what he had caught this time I saw that it was a hummingbird and it was still alive. I got it out of Artie’s mouth and tried to hold onto it without crushing it while still protecting it from Artie who wasn’t appreciating my humanitarian efforts. (Is is still humanitarian if you’re dealing with a bird?)

I took the bird outside and tried releasing it but it couldn’t fly very far, and Artie quickly tried reclaiming his trophy. So once again I separated him from his prey and took the bird back inside and put it in a bowl in the kitchen, and then locked Artie outside.

I made up some sugar water and put it in a plate and rested the bird on the edge hoping it would get some of its energy back. His wings seemed sort of messed up so I wasn’t sure if it was going to be ok but I figured I’d try. After about a half hour I thought I’d try to release him in the front yard. He was able to only fly a short distance again, but he could at least fly so I gathered him up again and stuck him under a bush while I went back to get the sugar water. I poured the water into the red cap of a spice jar and then I realized that I better get Artie inside now that the bird was outside. With that done I returned to the bird to see how it was doing.

It still couldn’t fly so I figured I go back to work and check on it a bit later. As soon as I opened the front door, Artie came dashing out and went after the bird again. I chased him off and then I saw that the bird was really trying to get away but it was kind of stuck in the bush. So I picked it up and it took off out of my hand and I watched it fly over Silvia’s barn across the street and it seemed like it made a beeline for Russ Park.

It was remarkable holding the hummingbird and feel it’s fast heartbeat. I’m so glad that this one had a happy escape.