ON A WING AND A PRAYER

2,000 Miles Away From Home

The rare green-breasted Mango Hummingbird whose habitat is Mango groves in Mexico made a very mysterious appearance in the countryside near Beloit, Wisconsin one recent October morning.

The homeowner posted its appearance on the internet and as the word spread, bird lovers descended on the town to witness this rare visitor busy at work doing what hummingbirds do best - sipping sweet nectar. In fact, more than 700 visitors, some from far away, came. The homeowners were gracious in allowing them to share the phenomenon and only asked that the visitors sign a guest book and comment on why they came. Oh yes, and not to trash her lawn and garden. Very important !

At this late stage I doubt that the hummingbird will be able to find its way back to Mexico and I fear that it will not survive the harsh Wisconsin winters. It makes me wonder if it might be a young one that didn't fly from Mexico but by some miracle or quirk of nature was from parents who did survive a Wisconsin winter. That may sound far fetched but in Chicago there are many South American parakeets that originally were thought not able to survive but did and have been found in large numbers.

I wish that the hummingbird would fly away to Florida like a lot of Chicagoans do when it gets cold.