http://hummingbirdwebsite.com/gallery/castlebury/04.jpg
As previously mentioned, I spent the weekend (a holiday one for Canadians, and a birthday one for me in particular) in Ohio visiting my bird-nerd sister, which was lots of fun. The area she’s in is hugely populated by Great Blue Herons; I’d only ever seen one or two before, and at a distance at that, so seeing hundreds of them up close and personal was quite a treat. I got to see her banding operation in action for the first time (and I didn’t even have to wake up early – score!) and had the very rare pleasure of being able to resuscitate a hummingbird (pictured below) that had been snagged in the nets. Usually they’re too small to be caught, but this one must’ve had some bad luck – the resuscitation part came when it got stressed and “fell asleep” from shock, but we got her going again and she buzzed off quite happily after a minute’s rest. But it wasn’t all feathers and beaks, as luck would have it there was a Civil War encampment happening a few miles away, so I got to spend a (birth)day revelling in my own particular brand of nerdliness. Much fun!
