Monterey SPCA cares for orphaned ‘jelly bean-sized’ hummingbird nestlings

The SPCA Monterey County Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center is caring for tiny hummingbirds, raising them in critical care, until they are able to be released back into the wild.

The SPCA is caring for three “jelly bean-sized” hummingbird nestlings at the Wildlife Center. One was brought to the center after a community member noticed hummingbirds flying near them while trimming bushes. The community member examined the clippings and found the nest, but the parents would not return.

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“Thankfully, they brought the baby to us for care,” SPCA officials said in a press statement.

Some of the first babies to arrive every year are hummingbirds. The SPCA often gets the small birds after they were blown from trees during storms or when the trees and shrubs they are nesting in are trimmed.

“While our team will always try to reunite these little nestlings with their parents whenever possible, sometimes the baby is in too critical a condition or it is simply not safe to do so,” officials said in a statement.

Hummingbird nests are tiny, about the size of a walnut or golf ball, so they can be almost impossible to see when trimming trees and shrubs. The baby birds are even tinier, hummingbird nestlings are about the size of a jelly bean and weigh about one-third of a dime.

The SPCA advises avoiding trimming trees and shrubs during baby bird season. They ask to be called at 831-264-5427 if you see a nest or baby bird on the ground.

The center also warns against trying to feed wild animals. Two of the rescued babies had finders who attempted to feed them sugar water.

“It took weeks to carefully remove the crusty, crystalized sugar from her feathers,” officials said in a statement. “Even just one day of the wrong diet could injure or kill a rescued wild baby. Please always call the SPCA Wildlife Center for help.”

In addition to the three hummingbird babies, the SPCA is also caring for two baby black-tailed jackrabbits and one baby eastern fox squirrel. The center expects baby songbirds to come into their care in April.

Call the SPCA Wildlife Center at 831-264-5427 or visit www.spcamc.org to report injured, sick or orphaned wildlife in Monterey County.