Posted by Sandi
Yesterday we had the thrill of spotting our first hummingbird nest of the season. It was about 15’ off the ground in the lower limb of a fir tree in our yard. We could see two beaks peaking out, and the nest was bulging so we knew they’d be fledging soon. I could hardly wait to check on them when I woke this morning.
Little Angel - a bit ruffled and not fully feathered
Sure enough, the peeps were gone. I spotted one on the fence being fed by mom, then saw him fly around quite well. But baby #2 was still up in the tree, near the nest. She looked a little wobbly so I decided to keep watch. It was a long way down, and we were in Murphy territory (Murphy is our giant Leonberger).
My heart skipped a beat when I saw baby #2 lose her balance in slow motion and feebly flap her wings to a soft landing below, a few feet from snoozing Murphy. At that moment I named her ‘Angel’ and called for Bob to banish Murph from the yard.
I reminded myself that fledglings are supposed to fledge (this I learned a few summers back after returning babies to the nest when I didn’t feel they were ready!) Fine, but here was this tiny vulnerable creature in the middle of our path. I gently scooped her up and relocated her a safe place below the nest tree. Soon after, mom found and fed her. Ahh.
Little Bobby - a rufous hummingbird - ready for his first flight
What a wonderful Sunday it was, hanging out with my binochs, checking on Angel all day. It reminded me of my first summer here, when we watched ‘Little Bobby’ grow from a helpless raisin to a flying daredevil. Angel doesn’t appear to have all her feathers yet; I hope she fills in and makes it off the ground soon. Stay tuned!
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