by Sy Montgomery (Author, Narrator), Simon & Schuster Audio (Publisher)

An Audiobook

This is a non-fiction book about Hummingbird Rescue. The author, Sy Montgomery, gives a firsthand account of what it takes to save the lives of two orphan “peanuts” brought to Brenda Sherburn at a Wild Care Center in Northern California.

I loved the step-by-step story of how they nursed them to health, flight, and finally to freedom. What tender, delicate care they took with these two tiny creatures. I learned a great deal about the “light as air” birds, so exquisitely made by their creator.

Here are a few things I learned. The babies needed feeding (crushed fruit flies) every twenty minutes! Drops of nectar from a syringe were also gently touched to their short beaks (they grow longer). “Blossom mites” found on their heads hop off into flowers when the birds get nectar. But other mites (like those that pestered the smallest of the two rescues) need poison powder and a bath to get rid of them. The “cure”  could very well kill the tiny birds in the process.  And then the final release into the wild.

It’s a short book, but well worth the small price. The author-narrator’s lovely, soft voice was perfect for this tender story.  I’m now eager to read “The Hawk’s Way: Encounters with Fierce Beauty” by the same author.

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NOTE: An earlier version of this material appeared as a chapter in Sy Montgomery’s book Birdology (2010).“Birds Are Made of Air” from Birdology ©2010 Sy Montgomery.