Episode 42 - The Hummingbird Who Lost His Way

A small hummingbird flew over 1,900 kilometres, and ended up in a Saskatchewan backyard before a cold winter. The hummingbird – later called Yosemite Sam in national news stories – had performed something called reverse migration, a phenomenon where a bird migrates in the wrong direction. Sam ended up in the care of today’s guest, who protected the Californian bird through a Canadian winter, while she puzzled over how to rehabilitate the bird to the wild. 

Jan Shadick is a wildlife rehabilitator, and the Executive Director of Living Sky Wildlife Rehabilitation. Jan has spent decades advocating for wildlife rehabilitation, and she trains and encourages new rehabilitators. She is a founding member of a provincial organization that runs the wildlife hotline and provides rescue services for wildlife across the province. 

Animal rehabilitation and care are a beautiful example of how humans can be a force for good if we resist our hubris and become more humble with our relationships with nature. This conversation is about non-linear paths, and weaving our way to our place as a human animal in interconnected ecosystems.