This month’s Local Speaker Series at the Park City Library will go to the birds when Parkite Jody Giddings talks about the new Park City Hummingbird Hospital.
Giddins, the facility’s executive director, will speak at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 10, about the local hummingbird population, what plants and feeders attract these pollinators and nectar lovers, and how the hospital, rehabilitates those that are injured.
“We plan on doing a review of what a hummingbird hospital is, and let everyone know that we actually work with injured and orphaned hummingbirds,” she said. “We’ll show some slides and go over general hummingbird facts. Then we’ll take some questions that anyone has about hummingbird behavior. They can also tell us about some interesting interactions they’ve had with hummingbirds, or anything the crowd would like to discuss.”
Giddings, whose background is in wildlife rehabilitation, loves “everything about hummingbirds.”
“One of the things I really like is their curiosity towards humans,” she said. “They are one of the few birds that, when people can put up a feeder or plant native plants, interact with people.”
That interaction translates to the hospital when birds need treatment, according to Giddings.
“We find that the adult hummingbirds, when they are injured, immediately come down from their natural state, which is pretty active, and are pretty good at accepting care,” she said. “They turn off their active switch and go with the flow. That makes it a lot easier for us to figure out what’s wrong and get them the care they need.”
Since the hospital opened in July, Giddings and her staff have helped more than 180 patients.
“We got everything from newborns, or nestings, as they are called, right out of the eggs to a lot of fledglings and a number of adults,” she said. “We’ve had people transport birds from all over the state. We were happy people found us, and we want to spread the word.”
Most of the feathered patients Giddings saw suffered from wing damage.
“That’s one of the hardest things to care for, because of their size,” she said. “We work with a veterinarian in Salt Lake City, and when she cares for larger birds, she can pin the wings and apply wraps. And while we can do some wrapping with hummingbirds, it usually doesn’t work.”
So, Giddings and her staff embark on a waiting game.
“We give them some anti inflammatories and keep them in a small enclosure,” she said. “Because their flight and wing patterns are so distinct and rapid, they have to be healed up to 100% in order to be released.”
Giddings found over this past summer that the average care time for adult hummingbirds to recuperate takes about three weeks.
“Unlike some other birds that become ambassador animals if they don’t fully recover, hummingbirds are made for flight, so when they start feeling better they will try to fly,” she said. “So it’s hard to keep them in care for a long period of time.”
The same amount of time applies to hummingbirds that have suffered head injuries, Giddings said.
“Our head trauma patients usually are brought in by people who have found them on the ground or have picked them up after they’ve hit a window,” she said. “Whenever the birds come in, we do a full triage and do a full physical exam to see what is wrong, and we’re lucky to have the ability to give them the time they need to heal.”
Giddings looks forward to the Local Speaker Series presentation, which is sponsored by Friends of the Park City Library, a non-profit volunteer group dedicated to supporting the library.
“We thought this would be the perfect time and space to introduce ourselves and, hopefully, inspire people to volunteer in the spring when we will start accepting volunteers,” she said. “We’re trying to spread the world about what we do, but our main focus is in Park City and Summit County.”
The local community, in turn, has been “very supportive,” Giddings said.
“We found a rental space, and our goal is to build an actual building in Park City and Summit County that will have a visiting center so people can see the hospital at work,” she said.
In the meanwhile, Park City Hummingbird Hospital, located at 1790 Sun Peak Drive, Suite A102, is accepting donations, Giddings said.
“We need funds for everything from enclosures, washer and dryers, oxygen system and daily supplies,” she said.
Since Giddings has worked with most species of birds, mammals and other animals, she welcomes calls and questions about other forms of wildlife.
“Although we’re a hummingbird hospital, we want to be a resource for the community,” she said. “So, if people have a question about wildlife or if they find an injured animal that isn’t a hummingbird, we can still help.”