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Man’s unexpected encounter with wild animal sets internet ablaze: 'This made me cry'

In what could be the single most wholesome moment of this wretched year, a TikTok user persuaded a gentle hummingbird to land on him after two weeks of relentless effort.

The user, whose real name is Joe Ballantyne, has been meticulously documenting his attempt to attract the tiny bird.

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It all started when Ballantyne posted a video of himself holding a tiny cup of water, hoping to entice a hummingbird from a feeder into his hand.

It didn’t work, but it did kick off a series of increasingly complicated plans — some of which he gleaned from the comments section.

In one, he tried to “be the bird feeder” by standing in its spot and holding the rig with sugar water. The hummingbird came close, but it didn’t touch him.

In another, he tried to get rid of his “human scent” by bathing in sugar water. Also didn’t work.

In perhaps the most drastic of all his attempts, he painted his face red with yellow flowers, donned a ghillie suit then filled his mouth with sugar water … and it still didn’t work.

His ultimate goal is to specifically get the hummingbird to land on his hand, which he has not yet achieved — but he has managed to become a viral sensation.

When Twitter user Dave Hill shared his 15th attempt with his followers, it went viral — and Ballantyne’s little hobby became the talk of the town.

In that particular video, Ballantyne put on glasses with hummingbird feeder trays attached — and the bird happily drank from them.

As the bird enjoyed a tasty meal, Ballantyne remained completely still.

“Hello, I’m so sorry,” he said after the bird flew away. “Holy crap. Oh, it was in my face. That was so cool.”

TikTok users were overjoyed to see his hard work being realized.

“This made me cry. your excitement and hard work is so beautiful,” one user wrote.

“I just love this energy,” another said.

We’ll be glued to our phones waiting to see how long it takes before the hummingbird actually lands in his hand. He’s clearly already won over *our* hearts, so the heart of his local hummingbird is sure to be next.

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The post This man’s humble quest to get a hummingbird to land on him is my favorite show of the year appeared first on In The Know.