Submitted by Nathan Bolls

Recently, while reading a short paper on an aspect of the history of Christianity, I ran across this quote from Saint Therese of Lisieux: Each small task of everyday is part of the total harmony of the Universe. I thought of hummingbirds.

Our beloved ruby-throated hummingbirds, as stated by Velma Skidmore in her Outdoor Observations article in the 3 September 2015 Messenger, winter in either southern Mexico, the Yucatan, or a bit farther south. And they cross the open water of the Gulf of Mexico.

The eternal question: How do such tiny, seemingly fragile, beasties do that? Perhaps some old data from a study of Florida ruddy-throats can shed some light. The male Rudy-throat weighs some 2.5 grams, of which it takes 28.35 to make an ounce! In preparation for their long over-water flight to the Yucatan, they put on about two grams of fat.

Scientists who study bio-energetics, using biochemical and biophysical formulae and considerations, have published a conservative estimate that the Rudy-throat, at a flight speed of 25 MPH, could pull off a sustained flight of some 650 miles without refueling—if no headwinds! The longest Florida-Yucatan distance would be some 500 miles.

It is unlikely that all Rudy-throats from Florida, Kansas, or farther north succeed, but even those who don’t can be honored for attempting to uphold their part of harmony of the Universe.