Hummingbirds are described as “sweet warriors” by Terry Masear, a hummingbird rehabber in Los Angeles. She runs a center for the tiny, injured birds, and explains that while the smallest birds in the world are sweet, they are also fierce. Hummingbirds can flap their wings 50 times a second and fly vertically, backward and upside-down, but they will also fight to the death in nature.
Director Sally Aitken’s informative and irresistible documentary, “Every Little Thing,” chronicles the spring and summer hummingbird season of 2022 as Masear practices her unique brand of catch, rehabilitate and release. The film is both inspiring and beautiful. Visually, Aitken captures the hummingbirds in slow motion as well as in real-time as the injured ones try to jump from perch to perch as part of their physical therapy. Aitken also captures the emotional work as Masear uses her skills to save an injured bird, like Sugar Baby, whose wings are deteriorating because of human abuse.
