Every Little Thing

Synopsis:  A California wildlife rehabilitator rescues orphaned and injured hummingbirds.

How could Nature create something as fantastical as a hummingbird? They seem as though they could only exist as a storybook creature; tiny and iridescent with whirling wings. And the sipping nectar from flowers is a perfect touch.

Fortunately, hummingbirds are real, delicate Earthlings. Hummers live in the Americas. And they have the same pressures as all living creatures: competition for food, water, mates and living space. And when you are only the weight of a coin and the length of an adult human’s finger, the world is a dangerous place.

Enter Terry Masear, a wildlife rehabilitator and all-around inspiration. Terry’s avocation is caring for hummingbirds that are sick, injured or orphaned. She lives in Los Angeles near Hollywood. She’s especially busy during the birds’ nesting season, April – July.

Hummers are stretched out over the area with its landscaped yards, going wherever there are flowers to drink from. Nectar makes up about 80% of their diet (yum), rounded out with insects and spiders (yuck). When parents have nestlings to feed, they need to collect a lot of protein-rich bugs to fuel the babies’ growth.

**There are 366 species of hummingbirds; 132 species have been spotted in Ecuador. There are 7 species that are regularly seen in California. The Ruby-throated hummingbird is the only breeding hummer in Eastern North America. **

I suppose you’ve heard arguments that animal rescue shouldn’t be a thing, that nature shouldn’t be interfered with. The fact is that nature has been interfered with which is why we are in the Anthropocene. Climate change, pollution and habitat loss have severely impacted wildlife around the globe. So, yeah, if you see an injured animal, call a wildlife rescue for help.

We travel along with Terry when she picks up a bird-in-need. In one case, she provides emergency care to ‘Cactus.’ Cactus flew into an object and fell onto a cactus plant. Terry divines that Cactus has a strong spirit.

Fielding many phone calls, she advises a couple trying to safely get a hummingbird out of their house; the bird keeps trying to get out through a skylight. Rescue involves a carefully wielded paper bag.

** Most hummingbird species are between 3 – 5 inches long and weigh between 2 – 20 grams. The world’s largest lives in Peru, the Northern Giant Hummingbird. The buff-brown feathered bird is about 9″ in length. Unique among its kind, the bird can glide. The smallest hummer is the Bee Hummingbird. The blue (males) & green (females) top out at about 2″ and live in Cuba. Its eggs are coffee-bean sized. **

I braced myself because I knew that not every bird could be saved. I also had my guard up because the hummingbird footage is intercut with blurry, slo-mo footage of a little child in a rural area. Probably signaling a troubled childhood. (By contrast, if the representational footage is clear and showing at normal speed, there is a better chance that the past was a happy place.) Then…more clues.  School pictures of a shellshocked looking child.  What had happened to Terry? You’ll have to see if she’s okay with talking about it.

Terry has lots of roomy cages for her patients. I know ‘cage’ sounds bad, but these are more like condos in mood. Alexa is recovering from being hit by a car– a car! Even deer don’t recover from being hit by a car. That Alexa is still breathing is a miracle. Remember, Alexa is a tiny bird!

One of my faves is a spirited hummer named Jimmy. I would’ve chosen a regal name like Helios, but Terry is doing all the work, so it’s only fair that she picks the names. Jimmy is young and itty bitty, just two grams. Terry says he’ll be closer to four grams by release time. Wow, a giant 😉

Plenty of the people who bring in the injured birds are invested in their survival. Terry is busy, but she takes time to talk with the rescuers who call or stop by to see the little invalids. She doesn’t have as much patience for people who evince a carelessness for wildlife. One bird has been turned in after–it seems– their kids were allowed to douse the injured bird with sugar water. The dried mixture has made the feathers brittle and broken. But Terry works with expertise, painstakingly using a wet cotton swab to clean the bird. A lot of work, as anyone would know who has spilled sugar on the floor and wiped it up with a wet paper towel. The sugar stays put! (I’m not saying that I would be so foolish, ahem, but I might know someone that naive.)

In a quiet moment, Terry lounges on her deck, gazing out at the treed hills. There are hummingbird feeders on the railing which are being nearly swarmed by bees. Terry swats away the bees that buzz near her. She’ll have to make herself scarce until sunset. Bees navigate by the sun, so when they head back to the hive as the sun dips, the area hummers have a chance for a quick feed before their own bedtime. Terry will probably be too exhausted to appreciate the sunset.

Indoors, Terry tends to the critical cases. She encourages the birds to eat and watches them like a hawk –well, not like a hawk, they’d kill the poor things– but she vigilantly observes them for signs of progress from head injuries (are they able to keep their balance?) and battered wings (she encourages them to fly to a proffered flower).

Terry is generous in sharing her knowledge about hummingbirds, but she seems to keep her own counsel about how her own life’s journey has informed her philosophy. She seems to have made peace with traumas in her life and has gratitude for good people she’s met along the way. As a younger woman, she had a partner, Frank. She lights up when relating his qualities.

Out in the California sunshine, tucked here and there on her property’s lawn, Terry tends shed-sized aviaries where recovering birds gain strength flying from blossom to blossom. They will need their strength. I read that the Costa’s Hummingbird visits about 1,840 flowers a day!  Furthermore, the birds are very territorial, so skirmishes are routine. It seems that as Yorkshire Terriers are to the dog world, hummers are to the bird world; tiny bodies with a bold nature, determined to rule the space around them.

Terry’s devotion to getting the birds back in nature is heartwarming. You’ll be rooting for Raisin and Jimmy and the other little birds to speed out of the aviary when Terry opens the door for the rehabbed birds.

** Hummingbirds can fly up to 30 mph. Their wings rotate 180 degrees, moving in a figure 8 pattern. They can fly backwards, forwards (of course), hover and fly vertically. The Rufous Hummingbird has the longest migration, about 7,800 mi from Mexico to Alaska. **

The meaningfulness of her work isn’t dimmed by the losses along the way. Terry says it’s the caring while the animals are in crisis that matters. Her capacity for empathy is remarkable, especially since she was denied basic kindnesses in childhood. She nurtures every bird as though she is heaven sent.

Normally, I’m interested in behind the scenes in Hollywood rumors and splashy photos of the latest art & architecture design from LA, but I have to stay that seeing one woman’s work near Hollywood, saving the lives of these profoundly beautiful birds was more spectacular than anything you’ll see crafted for the movies or for the multi-millionaires that populate LA’s environs. Of course, I’m still interested in hot tea, but not if there is a hummingbird in view.

P.S. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has some great resources on birds. Click here for info on hummingbirds.

Movie Loon’s Movie Review Shortcut:

Grade:  B+

Cut to the Chase: Beautiful photography & inspiring viewing.

Humor Highlight:  Terry trying for one peaceful moment on her deck–she’s bothered by bees. Thankfully, no stings.