"Squeak" (c)Arnette Heidcamp and Jennifer Harper
In “A Hummingbird in My House: The Story of Squeak”, Arnette Heidcamp writes a memoir of her friendship with a hummingbird that she rescued. This small bird came into her life October 1988, when she noticed him looking for nectar. October in Upstate New York (USA) is no place for a malnourished hummingbird. Ms. Heidcamp enticed the bird, she eventually called Squeak, into her sunroom for the winter. After the author released Squeak the following May, he did not return to her garden.
This delightful little book is filled with wonder for “living jewels’ as Arnette Heidcamp calls hummingbirds. The lovely photographs of Squeak, taken by her daughter, show him in all his hummingbird glory. The author affectionately details Squeak’s daily life – his bath, eating, and sleeping. Squeak made his preferences known about how he thought things should be. Ms. Heidcamp writes, “One morning in mid-November, Squeak showed some interest in the actual spraying of “his” phalaenopis and the other plants by approaching the spray of water and hovering in front of it to check it out. When he returned to his branch. I let the spray flow in his direction. Immediately, even before the water touched him, he fanned his tail in anticipation.”
As the author tells about Squeak’s daily life, she offers her observations about hummingbirds. She gives the reader a window into the world of hummingbirds. When Squeak leaves in May, Arnette Heidcamp writes, “He’s a free bird now. Although it was not what I had been expecting, I had hoped that he would hang around, eagerly accepting our human handouts. As hard as it might be, I knew that I’d have to be willing to say good-bye.” The author continues, “It seems like only yesterday that I worried so about whether he would make it through the winter all right. Now, in retrospect, it all seems so easy and natural. I suppose that being rescued and making through a winter that would have otherwise brought about his demise is happy ending enough for me.” At the end of this enjoyable book, the reader feels the author's emotions when Squeak joins his fellow hummingbirds.
“Preening” (except)
“Squeak spent a great deal of time preening. At times he would “sunbathe”, fluffing up and exposing himself to the sun, and sitting at the window in that same position for quite a while. Afterward he would scratch the warmed areas.”
“Several times while Squeak was vigorously scratching himself, he fell from his branch. Each time he would immediately right himself in midair, go back to where he had been sitting and start scratching all over again. Such an acrobat, such perfect control, no struggling, so matter-of-factly and naturally, he’d hardly miss a beat.”
Purchase this book and others by Arnette Heidcamp from Amazon.com.
Hummingbird Book Cover and Photo of Squeak is copyrighted by Arnette Heidcamp and Jennifer Harper.
Va. Carper
August 11, 2005