Something to Try This Summer if You Get Bored

[Granny Smith]

Five Steps to Feeding Hummingbirds in Your Hand

It's one thing for a hummingbird to eat from a container that you're holding. But it's another thing to actually feel one of these jeweled fliers in your hand.

Abigail Alfano from Covington, Louisiana was determined to touch a hummingbird. And with a little practice and patience, she finally did. Here's how she did it.

1. Get hummingbirds used to your yard by offering multiple sugar-water feeders.

2. As the traffic around your feeding area increases, start spending time out there so the hummingbirds get used to you. Even if you scare them off at first, be patient. They will come back.

3. Once they get used to your presence, hold the sugar-water feeder in your hand. If you are patient, they should eventually start feeding from the one you're holding.

4. When you have good hummingbird traffic one day, remove your other feeders. Next, place a small feeder filled with sugar water in the palm of your hand (Abigail used an old milk jug lid).

5. Now you just have to sit outside and wait. If you choose a day with good hummingbird traffic and remove the other food sources, you'll have a better chance. Be patient and stick with it. You just might feel the flutter of a hummingbird in your hand.

[Valerie]

I held a hummingbird in my hand once!

It hit the plate glass window on the front of our church office, so all three of us had to run out and see. It was stunned and laying on the ground. I picked it up on a piece of paper then slid it into my hand, kind of in a sitting up position. Sis June got one of those paper cone cups and cut the tip off and put water in it. She held it in front of him, and he poked his little tongue in and got a drink. Then he started flapping his wings, if you want to call it flapping. It was more of a buzz. He just lifted straight up off my hand like a little Harrier jet, turned and looked at each of us, then whooosh, took off! It was the coolest thing.

[Granny Smith]

I had one in my lap once. I was laying in the sun, working on my tan, when it flew into the house and knocked itself out, landing in my lap. I thought it was a big bee so I screamed, jumped up, and ran. Mom heard me scream and came out to see what all the commotion was about. She found the hummingbird lying on the chaise lounge, still unconscious, and held it for a few minutes until it started to wake up. Then she sat it in the apple tree where it sat, wobbling, for a little while. Then it flew to the fence and sat there a while before it flew away.

[joanfromzone6]

it's amazing when you do get to hold one in your hand - they weigh less than a popcorn fart -