Foto English: Lesson 18

The Hummingbird vs.

Hurricane Irene: Part 2
[This is the second part of the story of a very small bird who must endure a very
powerful storm!]

Once upon a time there was a small humming bird. His name was Buzz and he was a
ruby-throated hummingbird. He dreamed of drinking silky sweet nectar day and
night!

But, Buzz had a big problem. He wanted to fly to the Thousand Islands to visit his
friend Joe the Ant. He wanted to visit his friend and he wanted to drink the sweet
nectar from scarlet runner beans from the fence on Farmer Clem’s garden. But, Buzz
was caught in Hurricane Irene in Saratoga Springs, NY. He didn’t know if he could
put up with the storm… actually, he didn’t know if he would even survive!

In order to increase the odds of his survival, Buzz took out his emergency
survival kit. Inside, was a tiny tiny bird-sized manual that listed survival techniques
and had suggestions for avian first-aid. The first suggestion in the book was to find
shelter and a source of potable water. The second hint was to avoid taking
anything for granted- the smallest detail or action might save one’s life in a
survival scenario.

So, Buzz tried to do the little things, for the time being, that would improve his
odds. He fluffed his tiny hummingbird feathers to keep warm from the cold, driving
rain. He tried to keep his bird beak dry from the rain as well; he wanted to protect
himself from catching a head-cold in his bird beak and bird sinuses. “The last thing a
hummingbird needs during a hurricane is a head-cold,” he read out loud from his
survival manual.

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Foto English: Lesson 18

Unfortunately, Hurricane Irene was getting worse. The wind and rain were blowing
right through the leaves on the lilac tree Buzz had taken cover in. He tried to keep
his beak dry, but four or five new raindrops would bead-up on his beak immediately
each time he dried himself off. At least he had applied DWR to his beak and feathers
recently and it was helping him stay 50% drier.

Irene was getting worse and Buzz didn’t know how he would make out. If the rain
kept up, the DWR would probably start to wash away and he would get soaked! He
might get a hummingbird head-cold… and wet feathers might cause him to get
hypothermia and die!

Buzz told himself to keep a cool head! His survival plan was in the works and he
would follow it to a tee. He decided that he would have a say in his own destiny…

Buzz kept reading his survival manual while simultaneously keeping an eye on the
weather and the environment around him. He noticed a cold and wet tufted tit-
mouse in a spruce tree 20 meters away. Jennifer the Tit-Mouse tried to talk but she
slurred her words… she was getting bird hypothermia!

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Foto English: Lesson 18

Buzz chirped to the tit-mouse, “Hey, you are getting too wet in that spruce tree. Fly
over to that bird-feeder and take shelter under its cover… it will prevent you from
getting so wet!

Jennifer mustered all the energy she could from her cold, weak, hypothermic
muscles and flew clumsily to the bird feeder. 20 minutes later she starts to dry out
and she stops shivering.

After 48 hours of blowing winds and pounding rain, Hurricane Irene starts to
dissipate. Buzz flies to the top of the lilac bush and looks at the sky. He can see the
clouds getting lighter and that the rain and wind has moved to the north.

Buzz calls his friend Joe the Ant on his smart-phone. “Joe, are you there? Did you
survive the hurricane?” he asks. Joe says that he survived and they each share
stories of the storm with one another.

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Foto English: Lesson 18

Buzz postpones his trip to visit Joe for a few more days- he wants to help out in
Saratoga with the recovery effort first…

Buzz looks at the clearing skies after Hurricane Irene in 2011.

Vocabulary:

ruby-throated hummingbird: the only species of hummingbird that regularly nests

in the eastern part of North America

put up with: tolerate, withstand

In order to: to, a means to achieve a goal

increase the odds: improve the likelihood of an outcome

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Foto English: Lesson 18

emergency survival kit: small collection of tools or supplies used in a survival

situation

potable: drinkable

taking anything for granted: assume something without strong evidence

survival scenario: survival situation

for the time being: for now, right now

taken cover: sheltered oneself

bead-up: liquid that forms a round or bead shape on something that repels water

DWR: Durable Water Repellant, treatment that blocks or repels water

make out: do, survive

kept up: continued

hypothermia: abnormally low body temperature- often caused by cold/wet weather

keep a cool head: keep calm, be calm

in the works: something that is being planed or currently being worked on

to a tee: perfectly, precisely

have a say: have input about something or influence on something

keeping an eye on: being aware of something

tufted tit-mouse: small songbird from North America

mustered: summoned, gathered

dissipate: disperse or scatter

one another: each other

recovery effort: civil effort to restore something (often after a disaster)

Notes:

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