One human life that’s simply ‘for the birds.’It began on a hot summer afternoon in late June. Noriko Bluheron, a Japanese-American woman who’d moved to Maui the previous year, was walking her two terriers (adopted from the Maui Humane Society) on a quiet road in Ha‘iku, enjoying the ambient breeze. Suddenly, one of the dogs tugged at the leash, alerting her to something lying in the road.
There on the hot macadam lay an amorphous yellow blob about the size of a small fig, a tiny bird recently hatched—and now very much on its own. With no mama nearby and no nest to return to, what hope could there be for this unfortunate avian newborn?
The tiny bird was badly dehydrated from her ordeal in the hot sun; her chances appeared slim. But a miracle unfolded as Noriko discovered, much to her surprise, that she had a special talent for rehabilitating birds. Within her was an innate gift that, until now, had gone untapped.
Instinctively, Noriko carried the bird home in her cupped hands as the dogs followed obediently. With the help of a friend, she made a bed out of a small cardboard box, lining it with a wad of facial tissues. Knowing that the little bird must be kept warm, she improvised an incubator using a low-wattage light bulb. After seeking advice on feeding, she decided to try saving the bird herself.
Imagining this tiny sparrow as a pulsating coil that could hardly wait to unfurl its wings and spring forth into the world, she named it Curlie-Q.
As she patiently coaxed this fallen bird back to life, the fledgling bird whisperer learned something else of great importance: the young sparrow needed love, without which it could not survive. An attitude of deep caring and devotion to the life of another sentient being was essential. Healing would be predicated upon her love-in-action, rooted in the primal understanding that all life is precious.
During the five magical weeks that Curlie-Q lived and matured among them, she and her family took hundreds of photos. Eventually a DVD was made that documented—in full-color and with musical accompaniment—how the presence of this innocent bird had changed their lives.
A ceramic artist who had always chosen bird motifs for her clay creations, Noriko yearned to know more about wild birds—and especially to experience their hidden lives. Now, nearly 40 birds later, Noriko does her rehabilitation work whenever she can—though its pace slowed down, of necessity, once she moved from the spacious environs of rural Ha‘iku to a small South Shore condo.
Kathy Holland, a neighbor and close friend, acknowledged Noriko’s talent as bird whisperer. “We found a mynah bird in our yard that was about a week old. ‘Dynah the Mynah’ looked very weak and was too young for seed. We knew that Noriko had helped so many little birds, including doves, chickens, finches and mejiros. She has a great ability to coax them to eat: almost like a natural mama bird, she gets them to open their beaks and wait for food. She seems to have infinite patience with them. She’s awesome!”
Still wondering why the chicken crossed the road? It may have been in hopes that the bird whisperer was nearby! For Henrietta, an injured black chick found limping across South Kihei Road near Suda Store, fate was indeed kind. Bird whisperer Noriko scooped her up, took her home and gradually nurtured her back to health. That bird now lives happily among its relatives at an animal sanctuary in Ha‘iku. A surprise was in store for all: Henrietta soon transformed herself into an elegantly plumaged, bright orange rooster—and was consequently renamed Henri.
The life of a bird whisperer is not always easy; it’s typically a roller coaster ride of emotional highs and lows. Many of the lost and injured birds don’t survive, no matter how much love and biological support are given. Noriko’s bird graveyard, tucked in among tropical plants in a greenspace near her home, has been watered by many tears.
“As you learn to communicate with wild birds, as you enter their world, you discover that they have so many emotions,” she said. “You experience their longings, their joy, their fears, even their jealousies. You discover that nature knows what to do. Some young birds are destined to die; I’ve seen a hen peck one of her chicks to death while protecting the others.”
She added, “A wild bird belongs to nature; it needs to go back to the wild whenever possible. Honestly, I hesitate to interfere in the lives of these baby birds who may be dying, anyway—but I’ve decided to rescue because I want to encourage this human instinct to save the lives of others in jeopardy. This impulse to do something good, to help one another, is so important for our world. This is how to proceed as ethical human beings—to act upon that deep desire to help others and to do the very best that we can.”