written by Sy Montgomery, 2021
review by JoAnn Hackos

Sy Montgomery’s very small book about very small birds is a revelation.  In only 79 pages, the story focuses on a hummingbird rehabilitator in Fairfax, California, who cares for abandoned infant hummingbirds. The two infant orphans in this story are tiny, about the size of a bumblebee. They require an “epic effort” to care for them and finally release them, ready for their first migration. To survive at all, Sy and Brenda, the rehabilitator, must feed them every 20 minutes around the clock, a significant challenge. Typically, hummingbird mothers make more than a hundred flights a day to find food.

They name the hummingbird babies Maya and Zuni for their indigenous roots. It turns out that they are Allen’s Hummingbirds, a west coast species that is in serious decline. Raising them to be released is a challenge. Brenda places the tiny nest in an incubator box that keeps the birds at a constant 85 degrees. The baby birds were likely 3 to 5 days old when they were rescued. They are fed fruit flies caught fresh and crushed, mixed with a nectar supplement, administered with a syringe.

Luckily, orphaned babies often do better than injured adults. Adults are injured when they flight into windows or are hit by cars, especially red cars that they will chase. But perhaps one of the most common misfortunes for a hummingbird is called CBC: Caught by Cat, another reason to keep your cat indoors.

Baby hummingbirds fledge in about two weeks, depending on the food sources that the mother finds. Recall that only the mother cares for the babies. The fathers are not involved. However, the rehabilitators take longer, about a month for the babies to be ready to fly on their own. Unfortunately, Brenda and Sy discovers that the tiny birds are infected with mites; mites can kill them so they must be disinfected. Removing them from the nest is especially traumatic and exhausting. Luckily, they both survive.

Both babies are finally large enough and able to fly so that can be released. It takes some practice with first a flight cage and then the real world for them to get ready to be set free. The smaller baby takes more time and effort. But soon they are both on their way, beginning their winter migration to the south.

I especially enjoy all the great pictures in the book. There are photos of the baby hummingbirds along with photos of other hummingbird species. It’s a very short book but fun to read.