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Re: Maybe We Shouldn't Dispatch Injured Birds
- To: carolinabirds@duke.edu
- Subject: Re: Maybe We Shouldn't Dispatch Injured Birds
- From: RubyThroat@aol.com
- Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2002 06:43:47 EST
- Sender: carolinabirds-owner@acpub.duke.edu
Fellow Birders
May I respectfully suggest that extreme caution be used with hummingbirds as
well. This is especially important when dealing with hummers in cold
weather. Torpor is used by hummers as a protective/survival strategy,
especially during cold nightime hours. It is quite easy to assume that a
hummer found "frozen to a limb or vine" is dead. In fact, the locked-feet
and stiff, cold-to-the-touch" condition seems to leave little doubt. Before
putting any such bird in the deep freeze, please either leave it alone until
at least mid-day, or place it in a brown paper bag inside your home before
declaring it dead and then freezing it. All hummers do not come out of
torpor at daylight!
Most wintering hummingbird species are tough as nails and very cold hardy.
Night time temperatures in the 0 degree range are a piece of cake for most
hummers in our region, since the days normally warm up into the 20's or
higher.
Bob Sargent
Trussville, Alabama