by Terry Masear
Powder slept in the ficus tree every night for three weeks, then every other night for about a week, and then finally gained the confidence to make a total transition to the wild. Her continuing presence in rehab that summer served as a powerful reminder that anybody, regardless of education and experience, can be seduced by the beauty and charm of a hummingbird. In late September, I saw the agile little flier filling up at the sugar feeder for what turned out to be the last time before her autumn migration to Mexico.
Pepper hung around the patio sugar feeders for a few weeks after her release but never retreated back into the aviary. Occasionally she buzzed me in the mornings when I came out to fill the feeders, but, to my infinite satisfaction, she never let me get too close. Then one day she too was gone, perhaps returning to her film career in Los Feliz. I never saw Gabriel again. He already knew his way around town, so I expect he went back to the prime real estate he had staked out in Beverly Hills before he’d returned to be saved by me, and with me, for a second time. And even though I have not seen Gabriel since our long summer together, I hold on to the memory. And if I ever do run into him again, Gabriel will be easy to recognize. He’s the one with the white spot, the magical third eye that gave me a glimpse into that bright and shining realm that belongs wholly to hummingbirds.
In the summer of 2008, after releasing the last group of adults, I received only one more bird. Julie, who identified herself as an eagle rehabber, called in late September and asked if she could bring me an orphaned fledgling. Although I had gone back to teaching and hadn’t gotten any hummingbirds for two months, I was happy to take him. In the ensuing conversation, Julie, who used to live in Los Angeles, explained that she was bringing me a young black-chinned who, thanks to an early-fall snowstorm in Idaho, could not be released until the following spring. Since making the fifteen-hour drive to LA was easier than overwintering the juvenile, Julie and her husband decided to use the hummingbird as an excuse to visit old friends in the city.
Several days later they showed up with a spirited black-chinned fledgling and a handful of paperwork from Idaho Fish and Wildlife granting permission to transport the little powerhouse over state lines. I caged the excitable male in the garage for the night and then put him into the aviary the next morning, intending to leave him there for at least a week until he got his bearings. Because of his late arrival, I wanted to keep him until he became comfortable using a sugar feeder, since flowers are in short supply by the end of September. But when I came out to check on him the first afternoon in the aviary, he was hanging upside down on the horizontal bars. Puzzled by his behavior, I slid him off the bars and let him go in the center of the aviary, but he returned to the same spot and began banging against the bars. Concerned that his long, interstate car trip may have been disorienting, I slid him off the bars again and attempted to distract him by letting him go near a fresh bouquet of honeysuckle strategically positioned in the back of the aviary. When I came out ten minutes later and found him in the same agitated state, hanging nearly upside down on the bars with his tail sticking outside, I realized he was pointing straight south, as if being physically pulled from the aviary by a magnetic force beyond his control. That same primal energy, indefinable and defying description, compels billions of migratory creatures to run, swim, and fly up and down the planet every spring and fall in pursuit of an end we can never fully comprehend. After watching the distraught fledgling cling to the bars with his tiny feet as his tail strained farther outside the aviary, I reluctantly opened the doors and invited him out. The second he cleared the threshold, he streaked thirty feet into the air and then headed south over the Beverly Center on his way to Mexico. And while his swift departure brought a wave of relief that the long rehab season had finally come to a close, it also left me cautiously bracing for the next call, another hummingbird, and a rapidly approaching spring.
Acknowledgments
WHILE WRITING A BOOK can be a lonely affair, rescuing hummingbirds is never a solitary pursuit. Before this book became an idea, Ann Lynch already invested several years helping to fund my rescue efforts through her nonprofit, South Bay Wildlife Rehabilitation. In addition to her, I would like to thank the California Wildlife Center and Linda Lindsay for their enduring commitment to rehabilitating the hundreds of helpless young hummingbirds I send their way each year.
My deepest appreciation goes out to my agent, Felicia Eth, for her unwavering faith and resolve that brought this work to publication, and to Lisa White and Tracy Roe, whose editorial expertise and laserlike precision in fine-tuning the manuscript motivated me to make this book all that I had hoped it would become. Thanks also for the contributions of Beth Burleigh Fuller, Brian Moore, Laney Everson, Taryn Roeder, Katrina Kruse, and the rest of the team at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Many thanks go out to Douglas Altshuler, Chris Clark, and George C. West for generously sharing their original research, which has led to remarkable insights into the mysteries of hummingbird flight, breeding, and migration. And to Brian E. Small for capturing these miniature miracles with his brilliant photography. A special thanks to Sara Michele, Rocky Stickel, and Steve Diggins for donating their colorful and poignant photos of wild and rescued hummingbirds.
I want to express my appreciation to the Bella Hummingbird live webcam for educating people all over the world about hummingbird breeding and nesting habits and for spreading valuable information aimed at advancing our rescue efforts. Also, many thanks to China Adams for creating the original website that provided a fast connection to the public, making it possible to save countless young hummingbirds at a moment’s notice.
Finally, I want to extend my gratitude to all of my friends who have offered support and assistance during my years of rescuing and writing about hummingbirds. Heartfelt thanks to Lily Sheen for her guidance and encouragement that inspired me to finish this book far sooner than I could have imagined. And to Ashley Herman, for all of the orphaned chicks she shuttled to my doorstep when I was too stretched to retrieve them myself. Also, thanks to Tara Neuwirth for giving me the flexibility to take time off from teaching over the years to save thousands of hummingbirds. A million thanks to Cameron, Yuko, and Alexandra Wood for graciously allowing my rescue project to overflow into their backyard and for being there to prop up an exhausted rehabber at all hours. My sincere gratitude goes out to my sister, Victoria Masear, for her generous support and steady supply of information on eastern hummingbirds; Dick Willis for his consistently levelheaded advice on human nature; Tom Shinmoto for his insights on all things Japanese; José Aguilar for his enlightening American Spanish lessons; Gail Borden and Kyle Voorheis for their photographic contributions to the website; and Dave and Eva Schwartz for always being there, no matter when or what the request.
Since saving hummingbirds requires a community, I want to thank all of the compassionate Southern California hummingbird finders for their willingness to invest the time and energy to deliver their precious rescues to facilities where they can be rehabilitated and released back into the City of Angels.
And, most of all, to my loving husband, Frank; although I know you don’t want me to mention it, none of this would have been possible without you and our demanding crew of cats who, despite staging regular protests over being ignored, have sat up late with us, night after night, waiting to see how it all ends.
Index
abandoned-nest calls (false alarms), 101–5, 111–12, 215, 225–26
Allen’s hummingbirds
breeding season/courtship display, 57, 58, 59–60, 61–62
changes in numbers/rehab numbers (Los Angeles area), 56–58
double-/triple-brooding and, 57–58
hybridization, 57, 220
iridescent patches (males), 154
migration/residence and, 58
nest colors, 8
Altshuler, Douglas, 136–37
Anna’s hummingbirds
breeding areas, 123
changes in rehab numbers, 57
courtship display, 45, 62–64
global population estimates, 123
hybridization, 220
iridescent patches (males), 154
lower/higher elevations and, 137
migration, 123
nest colors, 8
nesting areas, 56, 123
Apache legends, 97
“awesome,” 285
Aztec legends, 97
bananas and fruit flies, 84–87
banding
longevity information, 286–87
migration information, 122, 123, 125, 127–28
same-date recaptures, 127–28
Bass, Fontella, 214
Bishop, Helen, 56–57, 142
black-chinned hummingbirds
changes in rehab numbers, 57
description, 226
iridescent patches (males), 154
migration, 123
nest colors, 8
nesting in Los Angeles area, 56
Blacktop/Masear connection, 173, 202–4
Blake, William, 285
Bobo (cat) walks on leash, 279
body heat and hummingbirds, 90
Brad
learning true gender of, 163
Masear’s physical therapy for, 158–59, 174
reluctance to leave aviary and, 160, 161, 163, 164, 165, 244
rescue/rehabilitation, 157–59, 160, 161, 163, 164, 174
breeding
description, 63
mid-June and, 204–5
vs. pair-bonding, 58
return to birthplace, 122
See also courtship display
broad-tailed hummingbirds
in rehab, 160–61, 162, 163, 173
in wild, 56, 61, 137, 287
brown sugar twins, 110–17, 119
calliope hummingbirds, 56
cats
bacteria in saliva and, 156
hummingbirds and, 156, 183–84
kitten rescue, 227–29, 279
of Masear, 23, 52–53, 186–87, 219, 228, 256, 260, 262, 263, 267, 268, 279
chi and hummingbird releases, 282
Chucky’s aggression/bullying, 117–19, 137, 152, 242
circadian rhythms, 182
Clark, Chris, 62
coadaptation/coevolution, 19–20, 98
compassion fatigue, 48
Cooper’s hawk and hummingbirds, 161–62
Costa’s hummingbirds, 56, 103, 156
courtship display
Allen’s, 58, 59–60
Anna’s, 45, 62–64
dive speeds, 62–63
iridescence/gorget and, 60
rufous, 58, 59–60
shuttle display, 58
sound production/tail feathers, 59–60
stormy weather and, 45, 63–64, 65–66
war dance/intimidating males vs., 60, 62
crop
feeding formula into crop, 147
mother hummingbird feeding babies and, 146–47
siphoning in rehabilitation, 36–37, 114
deaths of hummingbirds
effects on humans/examples, 39–42, 49, 79–80, 271–73
Masear’s first loss/effects, 34–39, 42, 47–48, 271, 272
rehabbers and, 49, 80
Descartes, René, 182
diatomaceous earth, 190, 191
diet/eating by hummingbirds
ants/problems, 34–39, 113
brown sugar twins/problems, 110–15
food people fed birds/problems, 34–39, 111–15, 221
fruit flies, 77, 84–87
hatchlings yolk sac and, 83
people planting nectar-producing vegetation, 81–82
rehabilitation protein formula and, 34, 35, 46, 55, 67, 94, 114, 125–27, 143, 147, 151, 154, 174, 201, 202, 204, 211, 212, 223, 233, 234, 241, 248, 261, 263
rescuer feeding all night, 9–11
See also fruit flies; sugar water/feeders
dog-found hummingbirds, 64–65, 156, 190, 275, 276
ducklings rescue/Masear’s reaction, 212–15, 217–18
eating. See diet/eating by hummingbirds
egg-bound female hummingbird, 253–54, 259, 261
eggs vs. hatched hummingbirds rescues, 40–41
“failure to thrive,” 145
false memories of people (hummingbirds), 97, 98–100
feeders. See sugar water/feeders
fire stations and hummingbirds, 250
flight of hummingbirds
Cal Tech research engineer on, 138
deconstruction of, 135–36
dive speeds, 62–63, 138
fledglings learning, 20
flying up and, 18
hovering and, 135, 136, 138
lift/studies, 135–37
Masear imagining, 288–89
power at lower/higher elevations, 136–37
power output and, 136
progression in rehabilitation (overview), 139–40
speeds, 63
studies using digital particle image velocimetry/results, 135–36
See also wings of hummingbirds
food. See diet/eating by hummingbirds
fossils of hummingbirds, 98
Fourth of July and hummingbirds, 84, 232, 235, 239
fruit flies
Blacktop and, 203
decomposing bananas and, 84–85, 85–87
hummingbird young learning to catch, 85–86
in hummingbirds diet, 77, 84–87
people catching, 85
Gabriel (hummingbird)
courtship, 45, 63–64
injury/accident, 44, 45, 46
as previous rainstorm rescue/Anna’s with white spot, 23–25, 26, 27–29, 120–22, 180, 257, 292
rescue, 44–47, 52–53, 54
return to birthplace/breeding, 122, 125
Gabriel (hummingbird) rehabilitation
activities/lack of activities, 175, 180, 188–89, 235, 246
in aviary/leaving aviary with Pepper, 275, 277, 278, 280, 281–82, 289
back injury/posture and, 175, 180, 189
bath, 92–93, 95
dirt/grime and, 44, 67, 92, 93
feathers color/gorget, 120–21
first hours, 44, 45, 46, 54–55, 67–68
flight success, 266–67, 274
food/feeding, 44, 55, 67, 89, 92, 182
identifying/using syringe feeder, 92
in large flight cage with Pepper, 274–75
Masear’s thoughts/emotions with, 180–81
Pepper and, 221, 241, 243, 246, 266
reassurance from Masear, 188–89
rufous twins and, 180
starter cage/sun and, 91–92, 98, 110
torpor and, 90, 91
warming, 44, 45, 46, 55
Gabriel (person)
description, 44, 53
rescue of hummingbird, 44–47, 52–53, 54
gender differences in rehabilitation, 234–35
head injury symptoms, 69
Hopi legends, 97
Housman, A. E., 49
hummingbird colors
iridescence, 60, 96–97, 154, 280
males vs. females/young, 97
South American/southwestern U.S., 97
hummingbird personalities
brown-sugar twins, 115–16
bullying by hummingbirds, 117–19, 137, 151–52, 242–43
harassing larger birds, 140–41
as unique, 110, 115–19
Hummingbird Rescue website, 64
Hummingbird Study Group (Sargent), 127–28
hummingbirds
attraction to red, 248–49, 250
brains/intelligence of, 116
coexisting with people and, 75
competition and, 61
determining age and, 125, 131–32
family (classification), 96
flashes of light meaning, 78
flower colors/attraction and, 19–20, 280
in Greater Los Angeles area, 56–57, 75
&nbs
p; heart rate/beats, 90, 286
heart size, 90
honeysuckle and, 19–20
hybridization, 57, 220
longevity, 286–87
metabolism, 90–91
Old World fossils, 98
prehistoric origins, 140
range today, 97
size comparisons, 123
spatial memory precision, 128–29
species numbers in Americas/U.S., 56–57
weight, 140, 234
hummingbirds in culture/human imagination
affection for humans and, 100, 106
connection/symbol, 271–72
false memories (non-range areas), 97, 98–100
messages from birds and, 101, 107–9
Native Americans and, 97
spirit animals/totems and, 106
spirit of departed relative and, 97, 101, 108
sugar water/feeders oddities, 101
See also deaths of hummingbirds
hybrid from UCLA botanical gardens, 220, 240, 246, 247, 275, 291
hybridization, 57, 220
iridescence
cause of, 96–97
courtship display and, 60
description/hummingbird stage of life and, 154
Iris
maternal caring/mentoring, 167–68, 171–73
release/after release, 172–73
rescue, 167
Iris in Homer’s The Iliad, 173
Iron Mike
injury/background, 275–77
in rehabilitation/leaving, 247, 277–78, 280, 289
rufous male and, 277–78
Keats, John, 200
Keynes, John Maynard, 224
Kitchenheimer’s disease, 201
Kübler-Ross stages of grief, 268–69
La Brea Tar Pits, 64–65
Lao Tzu/counsel, 50–51, 152, 179, 181, 211, 217, 231, 239–40, 253, 280, 281–82, 285
laws and hummingbirds, 110–11, 114, 168, 169, 240, 268
Los Angeles Hummingbird Rescue, 76
Los Angeles Times, 193, 263
Masear, Terry
animals that bond and, 199–200
cats of, 23, 52–53, 186–87, 219, 228, 256, 260, 262, 263, 267, 268, 279
