Outside our door

Eating breakfast one morning while looking into the yard through the glass sliders, I noticed a beautiful hummingbird hovering back and forth around the bougainvillea. I watched it dive into the bush and disappear for a bit, then emerge and fly way up into the palm tree. I walked outside and peeked into the pink blossoms and spotted a tiny nest. Without touching it, I glimpsed two little eggs, each the size of a thumbnail.

How precious is that?  The nest itself is a work of art and an engineering feat to boot. It’s perched  firmly on the thorny branch. It looks soft and cozy and I later read that the floor of the nest is spongy and elastic and stretches as the baby birds grow. The bird weaves together twigs and plant fibers and leaves, and uses spider silk as threads to bind the nest together. My heart softened and I thanked the universe for this gift of nature in our garden. I took a shot before mama bird got back. Bill and I have been observing the comings and goings for a couple of weeks and marvel at the hard working mama sitting on the eggs to keep them warm. 

When they hatched I took the photos that you see here and Bill filmed an amazing video of the babies being fed. They are growing rapidly and feathers have come in on the wings. Any day now they will take flight and leave the nest — just like when you have kids, the time comes when you have to let them go into the world. I will keep you posted on the progress of the teeny birds. In the meantime we’re off to the Village Pub for some fish and chips.

 

Hummingbird-Feeding2 from Wm. Stetz on Vimeo.