Hummingbirds may be tiny, but they are also feisty … a still from the documentary Every Little Thing directed by Sally Aitken.Hummingbirds may be tiny, but they are also feisty … a still from the documentary Every Little Thing directed by Sally Aitken.are not easily forgotten.
The lives of hummingbirds are brief and brilliant. These fizzy balls of cartoonish, iridescent energy appear to change colour and shape before our eyes. And when they die, Masear says, their bones are so light they disintegrate within a couple of days, “like they weren’t here to begin with”.
“People think staying on course is scary,” Masear says. “Try having the whole world of infinite possibility in front of you. It’s terrifying.” Along the way, we see repeated closeups of flowers opening and beckoning us, as they do for the nectar-seeking hummingbirds. This, too, is a metaphor for personal development and daring to be different.
But kindness is at the core of Every Little Thing. Masear never measures a rescue by the outcome; only by the compassion that went into trying to save the bird in the first place. Those that don’t pull through are given the dignity of a decent burial, with hand-picked flowers from Masear’s garden.