♪♪ -Spring is here!

Our favorite teeny tiny fliers are traveling.

That's right, the first sightings of hummingbirds!

Have you got your feeders out?

The hummingbirds are coming your way!

-♪ Got onboard a westbound 747 ♪ ♪ Didn't think before deciding what to do ♪ -This is Beverly Hills, Wasabi.

See that park?

See all these trees and flowers?

Someday this will all be yours.

That's right, Wasabi.

If someone says get off my property, you can just give them the bird.

-♪ Seems it never rains in Southern California ♪ -All right.

It's time to talk hummingbirds.

-And where did you go on summer vacation?

Some travelers heading up from Mexico and Central America might be traveling through your yard this very instant.

-♪ It never rains in California ♪ -Hey, you.

-Since 2008, she's received more than 20,000 calls.

Life in Hollywood with a hummingbird rehabber is absolutely fascinating.

It's delicate and emotional work.

But if you do it right, it flies away at the end.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -I actually found an injured hummingbird this morning while I was going for a walk.

And I picked it up and it cannot fly.

-And are they awake?

-One of them is, but one of them is still sleeping.

-Okay.

That sleeping is not sleeping.

Sleeping is unconscious, okay?

So try to get them here as soon as you can.

And that one has to eat.

This is Terry calling you about the hummingbird.

-Sorry for bothering you on Mother's Day.

-Oh, no, no worries.

I'm without children.

Well, I guess I shouldn't say that.

I have hummingbirds so.

-Wonderful.

♪♪ -We're too quick to dismiss the powers that other creatures have.

But a hummingbird's brilliance is really -- It surpasses language.

♪♪ ♪♪ When they come in, they're damaged, they're injured.

If I don't do everything right, they die.

♪♪ When you see how vulnerable and helpless they are, you wonder how any of them make it.

Their lives depend on me.

Okay, guys, let's go.

Oh, there you go.

Sydney, you made it.

She made it.

Come on in.

Come on in, Sydney, and bring your treasure.

-I was trying to think of what to name them.

-Well, that's up to you.

-We can call them the Sydney twins.

Cute things.

-I know.

They're so adorable.

How old do you think they are?

'Cause I know they've been in my... -They're about two and a half weeks.

-Oh, really?

-Yeah.

And their mother has obviously not been there all day today, so she probably got killed last night.

This is the peak season, April through July, so it just starts coming rapid fire.

-So how long have you been doing this for?

-Oh, don't ask.

No, 15 years.

18 years actually, 18 years.

See now look, this is fascinating, look at this.

There are human hairs in this nest.

-Really?

-And it's a blonde.

-It must be me.

-This was in your yard.

This is your hair!

-I don't know how it got my hair!

-It is, it's long blonde hair!

-Yeah, there's no one else blonde.

-No, they would get it out of -- That's your hair.

They would get it off of the dryer vent.

-Oh, really?

-You saved them, yeah.

All good, babies.

-Aw, I'm so happy that they're both going to be okay.

-They will.

There's no doubt in my mind that they'll make it.

Thanks to you.

Without you, no.

-Without you.

-Without us.

♪♪ ♪♪ It's so tiny.

You think, wow, that nest will never accommodate grown birds.

But that nest expands with the growing birds.

It's pretty amazing.

And then, of course, they decorate the outside with paint chips.

So I always know what color people's houses are.

Alex, yeah, we need to fix this or he's not going to survive.

-You think it was a baby?

-Yes.

-Oh, okay, is it like baby season or something?

-It sure is.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Okay, Jimmy, let's just get calm here.

You've had too hard of a day, haven't you?

Look at you, you're just a mess.

There you go.

Now here, here, come on.

That's right.

He's still a baby.

So Jimmy was found under a tree.

He fell out of his nest.

Most likely his mother was killed.

Because I'm the surrogate now, he will wait for the syringe.

He's dependent.

His wiring tells him to remain dependent for another week or so.

[ Chirping ] Mm-hmm, we hear that.

He's not happy being alone and you can tell because he cries.

[ Chirping ] Hi, Jimmy.

Hello.

Hello.

He just went like...

Right now, he looks sweet.

He looks innocent.

But Jimmy eats aggressively, and he wants a lot of insects.

He has potential to be a real tyrant.

♪♪ ♪♪ I always felt more connected to animals than I did to people.

Always.

From my earliest memories.

I could relate to dogs and birds and animals much more than I could to humans.

♪♪ -We just put him in a shoe box we thought we were going to transport.

-He'll be D.O.A.

if we transport him now.

What we can try to do is revive him with sugar water.

And if you can get him stabilized, then I'll take him.

But I think we should try, obviously, his mother's not feeding him.

-Oh, gosh.

Okay.

-Go ahead and do that and I'll call you right back, okay?

-Okay.

Thank you.

-Thank you.

Nick, what's up?

-The hurt one on the windowsill opened its mouth.

-Okay.

Okay.

Okay.

So, Nick, he's not hurt.

He's just young.

-Hold on.

I've just got some guys here.

Guys, let's all listen to what we have to do.

I'm trying to do the sugar water to see if he can see it.

-No, no, she won't come down.

This is a female, by the way.

-How do you know?

-Because the females are the only ones that come into the houses to get spider webs for their nests.

And they just want to go up, up, up or into the light and they can't find their way out again.

-Okay.

-If we don't do something, she will sit up there and die up there.

I've seen it 100 times.

-My friend Alejandro is here and he can speak with you.

-I have a question, Terry.

I was listening to you talk about the paper bag.

The goal is to try to capture it within the bag?

-Right.

In a sense, we have to, you know, agitate her out of that skylight.

What you do is you very slowly move the bag around the skylight behind the bird and no fast motions, but you very slowly move it around and try to get the bird to go into the bag.

-Yep.

-Okay.

-Unfortunately, all of these birds are nesting females, and they have babies.

So you're saving three birds instead of one.

-We just heard the tiniest little thump.

It went "chhk" onto the paper.

And I was terrified.

I thought maybe I'd killed it or injured it.

We went out and as soon as the sun touched it, its little eyes opened up and I had the opportunity to observe this little creature breathing in and breathing out the same way that I do.

She tilted her head and took off so fast.

And it's so full of life force.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -When you get a wounded or a hurt hummingbird, a downed hummingbird, it's too much for people.

They just feel like I'd be a monster not to help this creature.

♪♪ ♪♪ Tashi!

Come on over to the other window.

Tashi.

Good boy!

Where's Finny?

Finneas!

So I do the hummingbirds in the spring and summer, and then in the fall and winter, I help with cat and dog adoptions.

These are orphans.

It's the same.

Like the hummingbirds, I nurture them and heal them and I make them perfect.

♪♪ It isn't just, "Oh, I love the hummingbirds," but what is the connection?

It goes back to that other realm beyond our everyday experience.

And they kind of taunt you and pull you into that realm.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ There you go, girl.

Good.

Here, Cactus, come on.

Here you go.

-I came across a man who had his hands kind of cupped.

And I looked and there was a little hummingbird in his hands.

So I was like, "I can take the bird?"

And he was like, "Yes, like here.

I just found it in the dirt."

-Usually wing injuries, spinal injuries, head injuries don't improve.

They usually go the other direction.

But yeah, Cactus has strong spirit.

She had hit something and then fallen onto her back onto a cactus and got thorns stuck in her back.

♪♪ -Terry asked if I would be comfortable taking the little spines out.

Just give it a little pull.

And I did.

Knowing that you had this other little creature to take care of was like, "Okay, wait, there's actually like a little life here that needs you so that it can survive."

♪♪ -But she's got multiple injuries.

It's pretty grim.

Her wing is hurt.

♪♪ Can you go over to the feeder?

Can you get in my palm?

♪♪ She's done with me.

Just going to let you rest for a little while, have some food.

You need lots of rest time before you get too ambitious because you can re-hurt yourself.

That tickles.

This is where you get attached to birds like this.

♪♪ ♪♪ In my mind, all the things you see with these little birds, it's all stuff that we've gone through, you know, their struggles, their deaths, their successes.

♪♪ I didn't go out looking for hummingbirds to save.

It started because my cat, who escaped from the house during a windstorm, started this.

He brought a nestling into the house.

I'm like, "This bird's dead."

But right before I set it down, I felt a very slight movement in the claw on my palm and I'm like, "Oh, no."

As hard as it is and as exhausting as it is, you get a lot back from these birds.

Good girl.

Get it.

This is my little finger.

That's the size they are.

That's my little finger.

Oh, look, you're feeling it.

Feeling those bugs.

The twins' enthusiasm is growing.

They are feeling it.

They're doing a lot of itching and scratching.

I'm thinking maybe they need some sunlight.

They get some nice vitamins.

This may help them to start flying.

[ Cellphone rings ] Hello?

-Hi, Terry, this is Sydney.

I dropped off the two babies the other day.

-Yeah, they're doing great, Sydney.

They're sunbathing right now.

They're sitting out here in a little pile.

-They're having fun?

-They're in with their new crew!

-Oh, my gosh.

-Yeah, no, they're happy.

Hopefully they'll start flying and we can move them through.

-Are you going to release them in Beverly Hills?

-Yes.

They're about -- They're at least a month from release.

Takes a long time to bring them.

-Awesome.

Well, till then, they'll just be living in hummingbird paradise.

-Yeah, they're moving up.

♪♪ ♪♪ Hummingbirds seem to have an unusually magical, sensational quality.

♪♪ How can anything spin its wings 50 times per second and not tap into some magical realism?

How can something fly vertical, sideways, backwards, and upside-down and not trigger those ideas, those feelings in people?

There's nothing else like them.

Most birds are birds.

They flap their wings.

Hummingbirds?

No.

They perhaps shouldn't even be birds, per se.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Okay.

Oh, wait a minute.

Wait right there.

We're going to check you and see what's going on with your wings, okay?

It's okay.

You're safe.

Can you sit up on here?

That's right.

Hold on to that now.

Okay.

Hold on.

Come on.

Yeah, that's right.

You feel that?

Her wing rotation is extremely low.

She's only going halfway.

Cactus...

It's okay, baby.

Unfortunately, she's been here a week.

They start to age in the ICU and then you know you're in trouble.

♪♪ What is it, Cactus?

Why don't you just go?

She can feel the falling, but now she can feel the air, the breeze moving her, and she wants to take to the wind.

But this doesn't happen in an uninjured bird.

The wing will not settle in front of the perch.

She's too old to not be flying at this point.

She should have flown a week ago.

♪♪ I mean, she's not horrible.

I've seen much worse, but it's not promising either.

Cacti.

Who's a nice girl?

She'd fly away if she could.

Let's be clear.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Hello.

You're sticky?

I'm going to wash you.

That's good.

You're doing the right thing.

She probably would've been okay if they hadn't dumped sugar water all over her.

But now, I don't know.

I can't be sure whether she'll recover.

I don't know.

Because sugar water strips feathers, and they've gotten it all over her wings.

I know, baby.

I'm sorry about what happened to you.

It wasn't fair.

♪♪ The wing feathers are destroyed.

Damn it, people.

♪♪ They call me and say, "Oh, no, now what do we do?"

Well, now that they've possibly ruined her, but they had to let their kids play with her all weekend.

So this is what you get with self-centered people.

It's okay.

♪♪ It's not just this one bird, because what this attitude shows about finders like this is indicative of a whole way of viewing the world that a lot of humans have.

The natural world is treated this way writ large.

So it's not just this one bird.

This one bird is a mirror of their attitude toward all of nature.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Every step that advances them is good.

♪♪ ♪♪ It's so great to see them in here.

Oh, my God.

This is like paradise for a hummingbird.

It's insane how perfect it is.

♪♪ Rehab birds need time in the aviary for training and to grow up, just to mature.

They need to learn to sleep outside.

And so some of the perches simulate real-world branches.

They have an array of flowers, and more space to fly in so that they build up more strength and more muscle... ...and learn how to fight with each other.

Because that's an important part of the hummingbird experience.

How to defend themselves.

♪♪ You have to really ensure that they're ready.

You've got to break that dependency before you let them go into the wild.

No one else will protect you in the hummingbird world.

This is Club Med, and when we let them go, they're going out into combat, into a war zone.

There are no rules for saving creatures and wildlife out in the natural world.

The natural world is a combat zone.

There's no hope if you're not aggressive because it's everybody for himself or herself.

And when they see weakness, that's a target.

♪♪ It's their instinct to eliminate the competition at all cost.

♪♪ Yeah, that's the ticket, baby.

Perfect little hanging perch.

All the hummingbird requirements are included in this structure.

This is a high-end condo.

That's what we're talking about here.

So this is Mikhail and Alexa's new cage.

Mikhail and Alexa are just happy together.

♪♪ Alexa, she was hit by a car.

Mikhail, he was a little bit sulky at first, but then he met Alexa and he fell in love.

He taps her chest with his bill, and he taps her toes with his bill, and he snuggles up to her at night.

They're very close.

Not all birds like each other.

If hummingbirds don't like their immediate company, they will kill them.

I have a picture of two dead hummingbirds and it's a male and a female.

I'm like, "Whoa!

That was a serious interaction."

Even though they're different species.

I mean, they were all beat up.

You could tell they had done it to each other.

He's been obsessed with Alexa for the last week or so.

The chances of Mikhail succeeding with Alexa are pretty low.

I don't know if Mikhail knows that Alexa's a different species.

Alexa tolerates him.

So that's a love story we need to explore further.

-Hi, Terry, this is Cyndee calling.

I would love to connect with you.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Bye.

-The ones that were in there when she came all went into the aviary.

-Okay.

They've all moved on to the next stage.

-She's past the age.

-She's past the age.

-She should basically be in a large flight cage at her age.

So I'm not sure.

Unfortunately, she's not making progress.

It's her right wing.

So if there is some kind of fracture or injury in the shoulder joint, the wing... ...we don't understand how to fix those.

We don't even understand how the wing works yet, let alone how to fix it.

-Oh, my gosh.

-Yeah, she's just borderline.

-She's going to make it?

-I hope so.

I'm working with her.

-That's all we need.

Incremental.

Yeah, look at that!

Yes, you can!

Oh, that's so sweet.

-She's a sweetie.

-She's just such a sweetheart.

-She's really nice.

-Yeah.

-You have feelings for these birds after you've had them for a long time.

In your mind's eye you always rate every bird when they come in, you just don't tell anybody.

It's a rehabber's secret, because nobody wants to hear the truth when it's bad news.

So, Cactus?

10%, 20%.

Between 10% and 20% chance of making it.

Maybe.

[ Door opens ] ♪♪ Sugar Baby.

I think she was just weak.

Her feather quality is very poor.

♪♪ Their precariousness?

It's daunting.

Some of them hit you really hard and I just had so much hope for her, but she just couldn't -- didn't -- couldn't make it, so... ♪♪ It's not like it was the first time it happened to me.

But it doesn't ever get easy either.

It was very traumatic.

And again, it was human stupidity.

I was devastated.

I sat up with her half the night because it took her seven or eight hours to die.

I was holding her and she would look up at me like, "Help me, help me."

She was clinging to my sleeve and crying for food all night.

That low, slow peep they get when they're dying.

There was nothing I could do.

It was awful.

It was hard to know that she was dead because I could feel her heartbeat but mine too in my palm and pretty soon our heartbeats were the same.

That was the end.

♪♪ What are you doing?

♪♪ ♪♪ The trauma of losing another bird.

♪♪ ♪♪ When you bury them, because their bones are so light, they disintegrate within a couple of days.

Like they weren't even here to begin with.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Cactus, I have a new plan for you.

♪♪ Alright, now, Cactus, would you like to do a little flight training?

This is a magic wand.

This wand was this little stick I got 15 years ago.

I've even cut it off and filed the ends.

Every bird I've ever given flight training or physical therapy to inside a cage was done with this magic wand.

It's like a wizard's wand.

It works.

I know.

Right, Cactus.

This is what we call physical therapy flight training, okay?

I want you to step on the stick.

Good girl.

Now we're gonna raise and lower you, maybe try doing it on this perch.

Okay?

When I lower this, I want you to jump over there.

Can you jump over here?

♪♪ See, that's what we're gonna try to do now.

Okay?

Okay.

So step up, sweetie.

Step up.

Good girl.

Can you get on there?

Can you jump?

She's afraid to let go.

She knows.

You know what I want you to do.

Come on.

♪♪ ♪♪ She almost is almost letting go.

You're almost letting go.

You're almost doing it.

You know you can.

♪♪ ♪♪ Oh, yes.

She did it!

You did it!

Very good.

Yes.

You should get a reward.

Here.

That was good.

Okay.

We're not gonna try it anymore 'cause I see that your wing is quivering and I don't want to push it.

We're gonna take a little time off.

You did it once, that's good.

You just stay there.

I mean she made a one-inch flight, if you can call it that.

But that's all that she needs to do today.

I'm just proud of you, Cactus.

♪♪ Imagination is more important than knowledge.

Now, if Einstein said that, you know there's something there.

♪♪ ♪♪ I don't think we give other species nearly enough credit for the things that they understand and the things that they can do that we can't do.

Humans always see themselves as superior because we have the higher brain.

Things are not what they seem.

You know, they can see a flower from miles away.

When they're flying over a canyon, they can see a flower from a mile away.

So they have these perceptions we don't have.

So why are we so superior again?

I want to know.

♪♪ ♪♪ Jimmy is exactly what he should be, which is a maniac and a relentless flier.

♪♪ We don't want him to be completely antisocial because sometimes that happens when they grow up alone.

I want to see him with some other birds.

So he's going into the cage with the Wild Boys.

He should fit right in with them because they just never quit flying.

Are you ready, Jimmy?

This isn't going to be super easy.

So... Jimmy.

He's like "Mnh-mnh, you're not getting close to me."

Come on, come on, come on, come on.

I got ya.

I got ya, okay?

Oh, no.

I don't have a net.

Oh, crap.

Jimmy, come on down, buddy.

He's not as strong as an adult.

He's got a lot of energy.

He's going after the flowers on the wall!

Come on, sweetie.

He's running out of steam.

♪♪ ♪♪ Ooof.

Ah.

Phew!

Done.

Jimmy, that was really evil.

I gotta get a net.

♪♪ I always tell people I never measure a rescue by the outcome, only by the compassion that went into saving the bird.

That's what matters.

♪♪ ♪♪ Every step toward the wild is scary.

Alexa and Mikhail are doing beautiful.

Alexa looks so good.

Oh, my God.

She's beautiful.

She's very independent now.

Okay, guys, come on, let's go.

Here we go.

That's Mikhail.

That's Alexa.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Morning, Cactus.

You made it.

You made it through the night.

Are you going to fly?

Good girl.

Yeah.

You do it again?

Can you?

Can you show me what you can do?

Can you do it?

Can you do that?

Did you do that?

Can you show me?

Can you show me what you did?

Come on, show me what you did.

It's pretty amazing.

♪♪ Come here, baby.

Let's try.

You almost turned!

You almost did a spin.

I did not expect this.

Can you show me?

Can you go to the other side?

You got it made, baby.

You don't need my help anymore.

It's a done deal.

You gonna fly?

Can you fly?

Come on.

That's right.

That's a turn.

Punctuation mark, noted.

♪♪ I'm impressed.

That's huge, Cactus.

You go, girl.

♪♪ ♪♪ Who else is a hero?

Wasabi, we're going to move you into a cage with Cactus.

And I hope you guys get along.

I think you will, because she's really nice.

She'll be a good mentor for you because I know you want to fly.

Okay, Wasabi, you and Cactus are cage mates now.

I expect you to learn from each other.

Cactus is such a benevolent spirit.

There will be no trouble.

Oh.

Oh, my gosh.

Wasabi, you can't be the aggressor.

She wants to be near.

That's her first vertical flight.

That's pretty cool.

♪♪ Cactus, congratulations.

You're a miracle.

It's certifiable.

-Sweet little thing.

I hope she can eventually make her way to the aviary to be released back into Los Angeles.

And to think that they're going to travel so far.

They'll catch on with the other hummingbirds, hopefully, and figure out what they're doing out in the wild and come on back and bring their little journeys with them.

I hope she has a beautiful future in front of her.

♪♪ I think they're ready, and I know I am.

♪♪ ♪♪ They all look terrific.

I know I did my job.

♪♪ ♪♪ Jimmy is ready.

They love you and they love you when they're young.

And then when they get older and independent, they hate you.

That's what we aim for.

Jimmy is pretty wild.

He's not interested in human relationships anymore.

He's brilliant.

Oh, good catch!

That was very good.

♪♪ It's bittersweet because I feel pretty close to this group.

Alexa is telling Mikhail, "When we get out of college, get in touch.

Don't forget about me."

They'll be totally fearful at first.

They'll be uncertain because in nature, just like with humans, damaged birds, they carry a kind of caution about everything.

They know life is hard.

Hey, Cactus.

Hello.

Hello, there.

I see you.

Are you ready to go?

You know we healed you.

You're perfect now.

♪♪ This is always a scary moment for me.

And I know it's over.

♪♪ This is a very obedient crew.

So maybe we don't -- Oh, there we go.

♪♪ ♪♪ There we go.

♪♪ Jimmy.

His first flight out, he looks great.

♪♪ He just shot about 100 feet into the air.

Look at him now.

He's free.

He looks pretty adept, too.

Come on, guys.

Come on.

Come on out.

Come on, you guys, you're free.

They're all shooting out.

♪♪ That's Alexa.

♪♪ ♪♪ People see hummingbirds and the first thing they say is how sweet they are but they shed that skin and they become warriors.

Okay, come on, guys.

Let's go.

Come on.

Come on, Cactus.

Come on, sweetie.

Come on, come on, you can do it.

Come on.

Come on, Cactus, come on.

Come on, come on, come on.

She's out and she's up.

She's gone!

♪♪ ♪♪ I like to tell people the truth.

And the truth is when you show compassion and when you show love for something that you don't have to, it's an act of greatness.

Even when it's a tiny little bird.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -To learn more about what you've seen on this "Nature" program, visit pbs.org.

♪♪