The Egg

I received a call from a nice young lady who found a hurt hummingbird on a curb.  She listened carefully to my instructions on how to stabilize and transport the bird safely.  She couldn't find a ride, so she and her husband and baby traveled 21/2 hours by bus to bring me the bird.  Once it arrived, it was clear that it had been caught and injured by a cat.  Many of the tail feathers were missing, a leg was weak and one wing was not right.  She was warmed and bathed (to get the cat saliva off, to limit the bacteria), medicated for pain and put in a small, lined box on low heat.  As she felt better, she started moving around...a lot.  
To my surprise, she laid an egg!  She was too injured to take care of it, so was completely ignoring it.  I put it in an old hummingbird nest, just in case.
Sadly, her injuries were too grave, so she was humanely euthanized.
Hummingbirds almost always have 2 eggs, so the death toll for this was most likely 3 birds.
Poor girl, she was only trying to be a mom.  What a waste.
The positive to this, was that I found some amazing people who went to extreme lengths to find help for the helpless.
Please, please keep kitties indoors.  Its better for them and so much safer for our wildlife.
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