Corpus Christi Caller Times Editorials - Woman provides TLC for an ailing hummingbird

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Tuesday, September 21, 1999

Woman provides TLC for an ailing hummingbird
Helpers hope the male ruby-throated hummer will recover to join a wave of southward migrants

The handsome little ruby-throated hummingbird was obviously in serious trouble when he was brought to the Santa Fe Animal Hospital. He was limp and unable to stand or fly. He was an adult male with iridescent green above, gray below and with throat feathers of fiery pink red, his gorget.
   Ruby-throateds are among the smallest and most wide-ranging of North American hummingbirds. They nest over the eastern two thirds of the country. Every year, in September, thousands of them pass through South Texas on their annual migration to warmer wintering grounds. Many birds are lost on this dangerous trip, during which they must cross 600 miles of the Gulf of Mexico. The veterinarians at the hospital who examined the bird could find nothing broken. It was not known whether it had suffered an accident or what had happened. There was a sugary deposit around the base of its bill.
   Linda Pinsker has worked as office manager at the hospital for the past nine years. She was smitten with the tiny bird and volunteered to try to save him. Linda is a soft-hearted lady, the owner of three dogs, two cats and three parrots. Her 21-year-old son lives with her.
   Joseph Nemec, a technician at the hospital, dubbed the little fellow "Wizard,'' because, as he said, "There is something magical about the birds, their humming seems mystical, like unicorns and wizards.''
   The staff helped Linda fit a small plastic cage with a creased towel on which the hurt bird could perch. He looked like a glistening jewel displayed on a blue fabric background. When I went to see him, she took him out of the cage and onto her finger and he immediately made a short flight, proving that his wings worked. Something was still wrong though because he couldn't go far and seemed to list to one side.
   He stood a minute on my finger, hanging on to it with tiny, black claws that seemed cool. The encounter was thrilling and I could understand the excitement experienced by bird-banders such as Nancy Newfield who catch, weigh and attach a numbered ankle ring to the fragile creatures before releasing them.
   Linda has cared for Wizard for almost three weeks. It is not certain whether he will recover sufficiently to be released and be back on his own again. She worries that he might "miss the boat'' and be left behind by his fellow migrants. I reassured her that all hummers do not migrate at exactly the same time. They seem to move through in waves.
   The ruby-throated hummingbird was the main feature at the Hummerbird Celebration in Rockport-Fulton last weekend. I am writing this before the event and today there are only a few hummers at my feeder. The week after Hurricane Bret, clouds of them were crowding each other for a sip. Those who plan the September show must make an educated guess about the exact time when the tiny jewellike birds will be most abundant during their migration. I hope there were some left to delight the birders at the celebration.