It can be difficult to keep up long-distance friendships — but this homing hummingbird finds a way.
Mike Cardenaz of Grovetown, Ga., might look like a tough guy, but his furry friends get to see a much softer side.
“People call me Dr. Doolittle,” says Cardenaz. Four years ago, the former SWAT officer also found a hurt hummingbird on his front porch. After months of recuperation, the tiny bird — aptly named Buzz — found the strength to fly again.
Now, every Spring, the thankful creature migrates north from South America to see his human friend. Buzz has come a long way since he met his hero.
“Several of his feathers in his wings were broken off and he couldn’t take flight,” Cardenaz, who is currently taking care of an injured chipmunk, tells WRDW NBC 26.
Cardenaz nursed Buzz back to health with Pedialyte, sugar and TLC. “I had to wait until he molted, and regrew new wings. That was eight weeks. And he became a part of the family,” he says.
“He would fly around the yard and come back when he got exhausted because that was his comfort zone until he finally took off for the winter. And he’s been coming back for the last four years.”
Spotting a hummingbird can be difficult, let alone differentiating them, but Cardenaz is certain it’s Buzz: “Random hummingbirds don’t land in your hand.”
This year, Buzz was a little late for his annual visit.
“I was kind of worried about him and I was on the front porch, sweeping off the front porch and I felt something zoom around my head,” Cardenaz says. “I stood on the front porch, put my hand out, and he landed on my hand.”
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