Every time someone glanced out the window, there he was—a scrappy, one-legged gull perched on the balcony. We named him Tiny Tony because he always chose to rest on the balcony near Tony’s desk, and honestly, the wordplay on Tiny Tim was too good to resist.

For months, we worried about him and even imagined making little gull-sized crutches for him. Then, one day, Tiny Tony put his other leg down. It was a holiday miracle! The office erupted in cheers. We couldn’t believe he had two legs the WHOLE time.

As it turns out, Tiny Tony wasn’t injured, he was just smart. By tucking one leg tightly up into his feathers, he was conserving energy and reducing heat loss. It might look uncomfortable, but birds have specialized muscles and tendons that allow them to lock their legs, making it easy to stand on one. Minimizing the amount of energy used to stay warm leaves more energy for other activities like finding food and avoiding predators.

I hope that unexpected holiday miracles find their way to you this season too.

Gull bless us, everyone.