HUMMERS, BULLETS, & PANZERS
OCTOBER 30, 1955
It was a warm October Sunday afternoon and after weeks of hospital stays and doctors appointments Finley finally had some time to spend with Will at the park. When they got to the park he escorted her near a flower bed, laid out a blanket and sat down. She took off her itchy wig and felt the warm breeze caress her head. She was interrupted from her thoughts by a low humming and tik-tik tik-tik sound.
"Hey Finley meet Hummer!" Will suddenly replied with excitement in his voice.
Oh brother! She thought not being in the mood for any of Will's animal friends today. She looked over at Will and gasped.
Flying around Will was a very fast flying bird. It seemed to know she was watching it and began to fly around her.
"I think he likes you!" Will replied and handed her a flower.
She took the flower in one hand and held up a finger. After a few seconds the hummingbird landed on her finger and stuck his bill in the flower.
He was only two inches long and his back was metallic green, a grayish white belly, black wings, a black face with a long bill, a bright red throat, a violet forked tail, and very tiny feet.
He drank from the flower for a few more seconds then looked up at her. She stared back into his shiny black eyes entranced. It was as if he was trying to tell her something. After a few more seconds of this Hummer flew off.
"Hmmm I wonder what he was trying to tell tell you!" Will replied as he watched Hummer fly off.
"I'm. . . not. . . sure!" Finley yawned as they heard a car horn blaring nearby and thought she heard someone calling their names.
DECEMBER 21, 1964
The Professor, Gilligan, and Kahla'kekoa were standing on a rocky ledge on one of the islands mountains. The Professor was trying to look at something through the binoculars.
"Fist flea warts purr tick mow tins!" Kahla'kekoa replied shielding her eyes from the sun.
"Huh!" Gilligan asked as he spotted something flying towards them.
"She said. . . " The Professor began as they heard a loud screech
"Duck!" Gilligan exclaimed as he and the Professor shielded Kahla'kekoa from the dive-bombing birds.
The Professor looked up to see two birds flying back up into the sky.
"It would seem that we have intruded on their nesting grounds." The Professor replied straightening up as Gilligan put his fingers in his lips and whistled.
"Here Bullet here Panzer!" Gilligan shouted and extended his arm.
"Huh!" Both the Professor and Kahla'kekoa replied as the birds landed on his arm.
Two birds landed on Gilligan's arm. One was a little bigger than the other. Their heads, backs and wings were bluish black as was the tail. Their underparts were white with barred bands of black on the legs. The base of their beaks were yellow and tipped black. The legs and feet were yellow with black claws. They were Peregrine Falcons. They seemed to blink at Gilligan with two sets of eyelids then stared at the Professor and Kahla'kekoa.
"It's okay we mean you no harm!" Gilligan whispered gently. "We were just about to leave."
The bigger one, Panzer tilted her at head at Gilligan, ruffled her feathers and both of them flew up and landed in two nests a few feet away. They stared back at them as if to say that it was okay for them to come over. The Professor and Kahla'kekoa were hesitant as Gilligan walked slowly over to the nests.
Panzer was in a nest with three chicks in it and and Bullet was in a nest with two. They both stared at the nest with two then stared back at them.
"I think they want us to help take care of these two!" Gilligan replied as Bullet helped the two chicks into his hat. "Can we Professor?"
"I don't see why not!" The Professor replied smiling down at the fluffy white falcon chicks. "So what are you going to call them?"
"Bola!" Kahla'kekoa replied pointing at the bigger one.
"Boomerang!" Gilligan replied pointing to the smaller one.
A/N: The hummingbird I described is the ruby-throated hummingbird. Only the males have the ruby red patch on their throats. They are able to rotate their wings 108 degrees which allows them to fly backwards, sideways, and hover in mid-air.
They feed on nectar as well as small insects and spiders. They do perch but they have weak feet and do use them for transportation.
The Peregrine Falcon is also called the duck hawk in North America. Female are larger than the males. They are known for their speed and is the fastest in the animal kingdom. They are very territorial and will dive-bomb anything that comes close to their nests. They have been used in falconry for more than 3,000 years.
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