by Kim Doner | Photos by Kathy Locker
As a primarily avian rehabber, I’ve hosted a broad variety of compromised critters throughout the years, one experience in particular defining broad.
I had gotten a call from Forest Trails Animal Hospital, where most of Tulsa’s ailing wildlife is treated. They were about to remove a pin from the shoulder of a bald eagle. Would I be interested in helping?
Really? REALLY?
I was there in a heartbeat.
The raptor had fully healed and was ready for physical therapy at Grey Snow Eagle House aviary. On the table lay the bird, out cold, and I positioned the healed wing so a drill could unwind the support screw. In a few minutes, the deed was done, and the eagle was crated to slowly awaken from the anesthesia. Eagles appear enormous when they fly over your head, but holding the wing of one certainly gives greater perspective to their true size and power.
But then came another, even more profound revelation inside a tiny box, about three by five by three inches. It was a damaged hummer, one wing lowered.
The shift from observing an eagle’s wing to that of a hummingbird felt like trading alternate realities. I thought of their flight patterns. Eagles flap, in a mostly up-anddown pattern, gaining altitude through pumping. The wings of a hummingbird are entirely different; they form a figure-eight rotation and circle from the shoulder as much as 80 rounds per second.
I said per SECOND.
Wow, right? I’ll give you a moment to absorb that.
This exceptional feat allows hummers to do what no other bird can: They can move in any direction and can hover in midair at will.
The Bird in the Box
The bird in the box beeped at me, laying as big a stink eye on me as something two inches big can do. I figured he would be hungry and thirsty by now; hummingbirds’ caloric needs are amazing, but they burn through as fast. Their main diet is tiny bugs, which provide protein and fat to their systems, and nectar gives hydration and carbs. That is something they need every 10 to 15 minutes, so I had to hustle to get him home and set up. At the least, he was thirsty.
Many bird lovers are dedicated about hummingbird feeders and purchase tons of red nectar mix to leave for the hummers — but not all are aware that the dyes aren’t the best for the birds. It’s recommended to mix your own with a ratio of one part sugar to four parts water; store it in the fridge
for several weeks if you make too much. Next, don’t fill your feeder for the first few rounds; instead, fill it to about a third and hang it out to observe if it’s being drunk from at all. Remember, not only hummers but woodpeckers and raccoons will happily use your feeder too. Also remember this is not food. It’s like a sports drink — they get hydration and energy so they can hunt. Any captive bird will need a specially concocted supplement or it will slowly starve to death (maintenance is a big reason they are seldom found in zoos).
Last, please, please clean the feeder well! Pop off all the little plastic parts, check for any mold growth, and do a thorough job with vinegar. The only thing worse than a hummingbird arriving with a torn rotator is one dying from a mold or fungal infection caused by a nasty feeder. Trust me on this one.
My new charge was more than ready for refreshment when we arrived. I filled a syringe with sugar-water to slide over his beak. A long, thin tongue whipped forward and back until he was done.
Hummers drink through two compressed tubes in their tongues that open from contact with moisture and literally grab nectar. The beak squeezes the nectar out once the tongue is retracted and the mouth closes. It’s all dependent on surface tension, an automatic response much like a piston.
And it happens 18 times a second. Whew! And do they ever love red flowers!
One question I always had was, “Why red?”
I’m so glad I asked.
Explanation and Evolution
Red is definitely a favorite of these guys; researchers have a great explanation. It all goes back millions of years … after the species crossed the land bridge and headed south to settle in the Andes of South America. On their way, the little hunters would pursue insects that were feeding on nectar or hiding inside blooms.
The problem insects have, though, is that they are cold-blooded. Mountainsides get chilly, especially at night, and bugs don’t move so well until midday heats them up — if that happens at all.
That is not helpful to plants because they need their pollinators.
Along comes the prehummingbird — warm-blooded, insect chasing, and evolution bound.
The plants and birds change together, a mutually beneficial bonding. First, on the lower levels, hummingbirds compete with insects for nectar, except for red flowers.
Bees are red-green color blind. They don’t see red as red. Hummers-to-be do.
They dip their beaks for nectar. They need lots. The plant blooms become deeper to hold more nectar. The beaks get longer.
The tiny insects that hummers hunt swarm. Hummers counter. The lower beak evolves until the animal can bend it back and out of the way, clearing the way to shove through a swarm and simply swallow without snapping the beak shut.
The plants begin to spread up the mountainside. Thinner air takes energy. Hummer bodies improve. They get smaller and lighter; their legs get shorter. They cannot walk on their legs like normal birds, and they
perch when resting. To easily move from flower to flower in any direction needed,
wing patterns mimic insects. And hummers are fearless.
Tiny but Mighty
Hummingbirds have few enemies. Cats, plate-glass windows, and each other rank pretty high as threats (aside from unclean feeders). The males are fierce territorial defenders and lousy dads (rare for birds). I figured my little guy had slammed into something, so I set him up with a suspended syringe full of hummer food and a thin twig for perching.
One would think that because of size, hummingbirds aren’t too bright, but that’s not true. They are quite intelligent, especially for their size. My new charge had already figured out I was a good guy; he casually checked out his surroundings and took another drink. Most adult birds freak out and beat themselves up against cages at first, but he was chill — a typical hummer response, which is helpful for a shoulder injury.
So we would wait.
It can take weeks to months for a shoulder to recover, if it ever does. In the meantime, I would need a hummer sitter if I ever left town. The bird’s food would need changing, and his environment would need monitoring.
I thought again of the bald eagle, her size, how she fits into our world.
Then I looked at this little sparkling fellow — and hoped.
It’s the little things in life….
