While I was back in the Denver area recently, there was a half page article on
hummingbirds in the Sunday, July 26, Denver Post. A large part of the article
was an interesting story about a Broad-tailed Hummingbird which I believe is
worthwhile passing on. A specific place was not given, other than it occurred
in Douglas Co. which is just south of Denver. The story was quite lengthy, so
I have taken the liberty to summarize it.

Last summer, when Susan Heriford heard a crash and went to investigate the
noise, she discovered a BTHU had flow into a sliding glass door. The
hummingbird lay on the deck unable to move. When she moved it to the grass,
it revived and flew up and perched on her shoulder. It then flew to a nearby
branch, then back to her shoulder where it stayed for about half an hour
before flying away. "Ever since that day, he would come up to me," said
Heriford. The hummingbird eventually began eating out of her hand. It slept
on a branch outside the bedroom window. It followed the couple on hikes. The
bird befriended their dog, a mastiff, and a pet rabbit so they named the
hummingbird Buddy. "Last year, when we met Buddy, we didn't know he would
come back," Heriford said. "This year, when he did, it was so neat. It was
like no time had passed.

This summer, Heriford has taken time off from her job to spend as much time as
possible with Buddy. "He's beautiful, and he's so much stronger and agile
than the others." she said. When Heriford leaves home, the bird flies in
front of the windshield of her car. "My neighbors must think I'm a real
lunatic because I have to stop at the bottom of the mountain, get out of my
car, point back to the house and say 'Buddy go home.' He will hover awhile
and then fly back toward the house. To greet my husband when he comes home,
Buddy does these loops. And he chirps madly when my husband hugs me,"
Heriford says. The Heriford property currently is home to another generation
of Buddy's descendants. Several fluffy fledglings huddle in a nest that
resembles green lichen and is roughly the size of my fist.

"The babies are cute - fat and fuzzy. They trust me. I'm able to see them
every day," Heriford said. "They come to the feeder now, and they're so
wobbly they look like they're inebriated."

"I've always been an environmentalist, but this experience altered me," she
said.

Hugh Jennings
Bellevue, WA
hughbirder at aol.com