Today we had a very exciting visitor to the Miner’s Castle visitor center! It wasn’t our first case of wildlife getting in – on our first day open, a chipmunk came inside but was only two feet from the door when I went over to head him off – and the door was where he ran back to in order to get away. Still, other than mosquitoes we haven’t had any indoor wildlife incidents.
Today I was working in the partitioned-off area at the back, organizing a system to keep track of all the brochures and handouts we have for visitors. (Day hikes, lakeshore geology, kayaking safety, rules about pets, hiking maps…) It wasn’t very busy so Marc and I were chatting when no one was inside, when suddenly I looked up and noticed there was a hummingbird trying to get out through the skylight!
The skylight is a light source, but not a clear window – but as far as the hummingbird was concerned, up was the best way out! He couldn’t remember how he had gotten in, through the propped-open door! We tried a number of things. I’d heard that if you put something red down near the door, it will get their attention and then they will see the door. So I tried that with a red file folder – but I put it in the middle of the floor because the door was out of sight from up in the skylight. (It’s in a sort of tunnel a couple of feet higher than the rest of the ceiling.)
When that didn’t seem to register, I suggested that we both go outside in case it was scared to come down with us right there. No luck, and we didn’t want to be standing around out there tell visitors they couldn’t go inside.
What we needed was something like a long-handled net, like you'd use to skim a swimming pool with. We didn’t have that. We did have a broom, and Marc got up on the stool and tried to shoo it out of the skylight – but it was not long enough, and just chased the bird higher.
We noticed a duster with an extendable handle. Still not long enough.
I tied a flyswatter onto the end of the duster. Still no go.
It had been over an hour at this point and the poor bird was still up there – battering against the skylight, or resting on the edge of the molding. I decided to call out on the radio; it being Sunday, there probably would not be any wildlife rangers on duty, but it couldn’t hurt to ask! One of the law enforcement rangers stopped in – just after I had finally gone to lunch, so I missed out on the rest of the excitement.
According to Marc, they stood on the counter – somewhat higher than the stool – and reached up again with the duster-plus-flyswatter… and the bird actually grabbed onto the webbing of the flyswatter so they could lower it down!
Then it flew into one of the spaces in the wall, a vent of some kind… Fortunately it found its way out of that and ended up… back in the skylight.
But the trick worked again, and this time they were able to get it outside, where it had a very strange story to tell all the other hummingbirds – after a long session at the flower buffet bar. All in all, a very exciting morning for us humans, as well.
And that wasn’t all for the day!
Later that afternoon, a woman came in and as we were talking, mentioned that she had brought her cat along on the trip – on a leash! Very unusual, as most cats won’t tolerate that at all. And then, a little while later, she came in with the cat! He was very friendly, a fluffy black long-haired cat, and was most interested in investigating the spaces under the counter. And the spaces under the stuffed-animal bins.
After she extricated him from behind the counter he sprawled out on the nice cool tile floor and wouldn’t move – she demonstrated by dragging him along on the floor – so that she finally had to pick him up in order to leave.
A very cute encounter!
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