Sunday, August 16, 2009

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush...or something like that

A friend in Albuquerque invited me to her farm yesterday to meet the newest member of her family, a year-old donkey named Bernard. I knew I had arrived in a magical place the minute I got out of my truck. Justina walked me over to a low-hanging branch of a giant tree next to her house and pointed out the tiniest nest I had ever seen, with two itty-bitty hummingbirds, sitting there happily peeping away.

I came back with my camera a few minutes later to find just one tiny bird in the nest. Uh-oh. But there was still a lot of peeping going on. I looked down, and sitting in the grass mere inches from the toe of my boot sat bird #2. How I managed not to step on him was part of the magic of this place, where all of the animals are in very good hands.





15 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh, that is incredible! We have many 'hummers' around here and they put on quite a show, but I've yet to find a nest. Your pictures of them are amazing!

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  2. So adorable. Like two little peas in a pod. I am perpetually amazed by the genius of nest building...

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  3. Awww. That was definitely the good deed for the day!

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  4. How neat. I had a hummingbird in my hand this morning but no camera. The story might be ending happily. I hope. Our cat dropped a fledgling hummer onto the living room floor. I picked it up and it clung to my finger, a good sign. Its eyes were open another encouraging sign. We took it outside and put it on a big rock. It sat there and when I came back, it was gone. The cat often doesn't use his teeth and that's the main hope for the baby's survival. He's inside for awhile and I am trying to figure out a way to save the babies when they come down close to the ground for the in-ground fuchsia. It's the drawback of cats who have access to the outdoors but ours love it so much that I hate to permanently end that privilege. The solution might be in planting the fuchsia in a pot where it can be higher up.

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  5. A magical place YES! I have found a couple swallow babies who did not make it. Unfortunately the drop to the concrete floor in the barn is not so cush-y.
    Awesome pictures of course!

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  6. What sweetness. That one of the little hummer sitting in the palms of the hands is just beautiful. A perfect picture story for a lazy Sunday. :-)

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  7. Amazing photos! I was just snooping around on the internet and found your site by accident but it was so relaxing to run across yours.

    I've had 4 hummers fly into my house this year, so far and had to release them before my dog noticed them. For the first time in the 12+ years I've been here now, I have a completely different breed of hummers that I can not find in any books I have, nor can I find them online but they are a real treat to watch.

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  8. The baby looked like it was so calm about the whole thing. How cute!

    Did you take any pictures of Bernard? I'd love to see a young donkey or burro. Your two are so playful I would imagine the young ones are really fun to be around.

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  9. Oh, you lucky, lucky woman! Not only to find the nest, but to have seen a baby hummingbird up close! Truly a magic moment!

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  10. Oh my goodness! That is so cool! I guess it is a humming bird week! :)

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  11. But where are the pictures of the baby burro??? Didn't he want to have his picture taken too? I love looking at baby hummers, my mom had a nest in her Martha Washington geraniums that had baby hummers in it. Think I'll re post that picture it was just too darling not to post again.

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  12. Oh, how sweet and tiny, I just love hummingbirds!!!

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  13. Beautiful place!! Bernard is a doll...the baby hummers are amazing!

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