Tiny hummingbird returns each year to visit Georgia man who rescued him

A Georgia man who nursed an ailing hummingbird back to health four years ago has received an annual visit from his tiny flying friend ever since.

Mike Cardenaz, a former SWAT officer, told WRDW that the little birdie, which he nicknamed "Buzz," migrates south every winter but still manages to find his way back to his human savior in Grovetown each spring.

"Random hummingbirds don't land in your hand," Cardenaz told the station.

The unlikely friendship began in 2015, when an injured Buzz found himself among a group of hummingbirds that flocked to the flowers on Cardenaz's front porch.

"Several of his feathers in his wings were broken off and he couldn't take flight," Cardenaz told the station.

Though he jokes he may not look like the sensitive type, Cardenaz says he immediately took the injured creature in and gave him a safe place to heal while nursing him back to health with Pedialyte and sugar.

"I had to wait until he molted, and regrew new wings" Cardenaz recalled. "That was 8 weeks. And he became a part of the family."

Buzz then began flying around the yard but would easily become exhausted and return to Cardenaz's porch. However, one day after enough practice, "he finally took off for the winter," Cardenaz said.

Still, every year around the same time, the Georgia resident says he can expect his pal to show up like clockwork.

In the meantime, Cardenaz, who has earned the nickname "Dr. Doolittle" in his neighborhood, says he's already moved on to his next project — helping an injured chipmunk get back on its paws.