A Hummingbird Story

A Hummingbird Story

Written by Jenny Lawson

Once upon a time in a land far across the ocean, (I always start my stories this way because some of my dearest friends live “across“ the ocean) there lives a friend named Jenny. Jenny lives in a little gray and white house with her husband Scott and her two children Andrew and Emily. When Scott and Jenny were first married Scott hung a wooden bird feeder in a tree branch outside in their garden and so began a family tradition. No matter what the weather little birds could always count on fresh seed to eat and a quiet place to rest their wings or build a nest for their families.

When the leaves on the trees started changing to beautiful reds, oranges and yellows more little birds would come to eat the seed. Now the weather was cooler and sometimes the wind would blow so hard that the little feeder would sway back and forth and some of the seed would fall to the ground with the leaves, but the little birds did not worry. They knew that Jenny would fill the feeder up again and some of the bigger birds would eat the seed on the ground and be happy too.

Sometimes the weather was very, very cold. Sometimes the roof of the little wooden bird feeder would be covered in snow. Blue Jays and Cardinals would come to feed from the little feeder and there would always be seed. Little Sparrows could cuddle right up next to the bird feeder and stay warm next to the seed.

When Spring came the rain would come but the little wooden feeder would keep the seed nice and dry and while the rain would water all the little flowers in Jenny’s garden the little birds would stay dry under the overhang of the feeder and enjoy a little seed snack.

Soon it was summer and the sun would shine very brightly in Jenny’s garden. The little birds were coming to eat the seed out of the little wooden feeder and it would give them the shade in which to help stay cool. Jenny noticed however that the little birds seemed very hot and thirsty. So she placed a bird bath filled with nice cool water next to the feeder. Now the birds were very happy indeed and they spent many happy hours enjoying the seed and swimming and cooling off in the birdbath. They would sing all the time and their little songs made Jenny smile throughout the day. Jenny would stand by the windows or the door to her garden and just watch all the little happy birds enjoying her little patio.

One morning when Jenny was watching the birds she noticed a very little bird flying among her flowers. This little bird was VERY tiny and it was flapping its little wings very fast. Jenny was very excited because it was a hummingbird. Hummingbirds are very special birds and Jenny was so very happy to have him in her garden. She quickly went out and bought a hummingbird feeder and filled it with sugar water, a special hummingbird food. Pretty soon this little hummingbird brought his friends to Jenny’s garden and soon there were LOTS of hummingbirds flying outside. The sparrows and doves, orioles and finches all welcomed the hummingbirds to Jenny’s Garden and every one was so happy.

Scott and Jenny, Andrew and Emily all had so much fun watching the hummingbirds. They would not only fly very fast from one place to another but by flapping their wings very quickly they could hover in one place. They noticed that their little feet were so tiny that they could not walk on the ground and sometimes it is hard for them to shuffle on a perch. These little birds use up so much energy during the day that they actually need to eat twice their body weight every day. That is why Jenny puts so much sugar in their food so they can keep their energy level up.

One day, very early in the morning, even before the sun was up, Scott was awake. He opened up the windows of their little house and went outside to water all of Jenny’s flowers for her. He made sure that there was plenty of seed in the little wooden bird feeder and that there was plenty of sugar water for the hummingbirds. Everything was ready for the new day. On his way inside to get his coffee….Scott LOVES his coffee in the morning….he noticed a hummingbird sitting very quietly on the hummingbird feeder. It did not move. All the other hummingbirds were flying to and from the feeder getting their breakfast, but this little hummingbird did not fly away or even get a drink. He just sat there. And sat there…..and sat there….

Scott went inside to get his cup of coffee and still the hummingbird did not move. He watched from the window as he sipped his coffee from his favorite mug and still the little bird did not move. Finally he went and woke Jenny up and told her about this little, tiny bird. When Jenny looked outside the window the little hummingbird was STILL sitting on the little perch of the feeder. He had not moved…..not one little bit. Scott and Jenny even went outside and stood right next to the hummingbird feeder and the tiny little bird did not fly away. Was the little hummingbird okay? Will he ever be able to fly again? Oh my goodness….now the little bird is hanging UPSIDE DOWN! Wow! What is happening to this little bird?

As Scott and Jenny stood and watched this little bird trying to decide if he was okay a beautiful but very LARGE black and yellow oriole bumped into the hummingbird feeder and the tiny little hummingbird was pushed off his perch! Scott managed to catch him before he fell to the ground and guess what? The little hummingbird still did not wake up! He was breathing but was sound asleep!

He lay in Scott’s hand as Jenny petted him. He still did not wake up. He finally moved just a little bit to a sitting position but he was still asleep. Scott tried gently to place him on a branch in the tree but he could not hang on because he was….that is right….you guessed it….STILL ASLEEP! Jenny finally made a little, tiny bed for him from a little, tiny box and they gently laid the hummingbird inside. They placed the little box in the shade of their patio on top of their little table and quietly watched the little bird.

They ate breakfast and watched the little hummingbird.

They said “ Good Morning” to Andrew and Emily and watched the little bird.

Jenny washed the dishes and watched the little bird.

The sun came up. The gentle rays of the morning sun finally touched the little hummingbird’s wings and as Scott and Jenny, Andrew and Emily watched the little bird opened his eyes, stretched his little wings, looked around him in some surprise because he didn’t know how he had gotten into the box and quickly FLEW away to his home in the tree where his family was probably waiting for him. And guess what? Every day this little hummingbird flies from his home in the tree to get a drink from the feeder. He is always awake now! He never, ever falls asleep on the hummingbird feeder….and I think it is because he knows it is much safer for little hummingbirds to sleep in their houses at night instead of on hummingbird feeders where they can get bumped off by bigger birds and end up in little boxes.

So if you ever see a hummingbird sleeping, or hanging upside down don’t worry. They are in a condition called Torpor. In Torpor the hummingbirds lock their feet on a perch, lower their body temperature and slow down their heart rate to just a few beats per minute. They do this to protect themselves from the cold! When the sun warms up their little bodies that is when they know it is okay to wake up!

Amazing!

Hope everyone is having a great day!

~Jenny~