Dr Hummingbird

As a child I read about hummingbirds as the only birds that can fly backwards and live in the Americas. Before I got into birdwatching, I heard from a friend in California, that she saved a hummingbird in a shoebox, with soft cotton as bedding. And then they became a common sight but a mommy hummingbird sitting over that tiny nest in the Sonoran Museum in Tucson. Imagine their tiny eggs.

I have read a couple of books on rehabilitation of wild animals. In 'Fastest Things on Wings' Terry Masear, not only talks about the animals in need of saving but also portrays the human, vulnerable side of a rehabilitator.Myths about Hummingbirds as nocturnal. Tree trimming in spring which disturdbs the nestlings right when they are starting. crop of the bird filled with unwanted protein.
Even more to learn is the life of a wildlife rehabilitator. The doubts, the fears and the support from the wise words of Lao Tzu. Even though the author knows so much about hummingbird rehabilitation, she is clueless about helpless ducks which makes her take a second look at her worried hummingbird rescue callers.