Baby hummingbirds rescued by Central Coast wildlife center — and more nestlings could be next
Central Coast wildlife rescuers have a plea for the public: Put away those hedge trimmers and tree pruners for now.
It’s nesting season for birds and squirrels, and some smaller species are especially vulnerable.
That’s especially true for hummingbirds, because their nests and offspring are so tiny and hard to spot, according to Marcelle Bakula, vice president of Pacific Wildlife Care in Morro Bay, which serves all of San Luis Obispo County. Winds also blow some of the lightweight babies from their nests.
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for Monterey County is already rehabilitating two baby hummingbirds, along with other young avian patients, and rescuers are expecting an influx of more baby birds, according to SPCA spokeswoman Beth Brookhouser.
The first hummingbird nestling was brought to the Salinas wildlife rehabilitation center by the person who found it, Brookhouser said via phone on Monday.
The second baby hummingbird came from from Monterey, where a cat had attacked the bird’s nest, she said.
Brookhouser said hummingbird nestlings, which are about the size of a jelly bean and weigh as much as a third of a dime, are usually the first to hatch in the spring in that area, so their late March arrival was no surprise.
“They’re often victims of tree or hedge trimming,” she said of the birds, so SPCA’s recommendation is to please be patient and “wait for them to move on.”
According to BirdsandBlooms.com, hummingbird nests are “nearly impossible to find. From the ground, they look like another bump on a branch. From above, an umbrella of leaves conceals them. And from the side, they look like a tiny knot, quilted with lichens, plant down and fibers.”
Because the nests, which are about the size of a walnut or golf ball, can carry a risk of parasites, the rescued baby hummers are placed in handmade nests at the center, Brookhouser said.
Brookhouser said how long the nestlings will remain at the center depends on the age they were when they were rescued, and their condition.
Hummingbird babies grow fast, she said.
“Depending on the age they are when they come in, it usually takes a month or less for them to go from syringe feeding to going outside to our aviary to learn to fly,” and ultimately be released into the wild, Brookhouser said.
The next few months will be busy at SPCA’s wildlife rehabilitation center, Brookhouser said.
“The babies have to be fed from every 10 minutes to every hour, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m,” she said. “So, it’s a cacophony of little bird peeps and timers going off. It’s a lot of work and quite noisy at the wildlife center right now.”
The SPCPA center is also caring for dove and pigeon nestlings, according to a news release.
“Baby songbirds usually start arriving in need of rescue in April,” the release said.
Van Masvidal, Pacific Wildlife Care director, said no hummingbirds have come into the Morro Bay wildlife rehabilitation center so far this year.
However, PWC treated 45 hummingbird in 2020, and about half of those were babies, he said, adding that the center’s first 2020 admission for a hummer was March 10.
Bakula said PWC already has taken in more than 300 wildlife patients so far in 2021.
On Monday, the center was treating 23 adult birds she said, adding that owls also are early nesters. The center already has adult barn, screech and great horned owls in house.
