Hummingbirds, Day 24: Taking wing

Come to the edge.
We might fall.
Come to the edge.

It’s too high!
COME TO THE EDGE!
And they came,
and he pushed,
and they flew.

–Christopher Logue

 

Early this morning, I visited our hummingbird high-rise. I counted two heads poking up over the nest, two beaks facing the sun. 

 
As I carried my coffee to my office, I caught wing flurries out of the corner of my eye. A walnut-sized lump settled in my throat. Today, they’ll learn to fly.  I climbed the ladder for one last picture of the two hummingbird hatchlings, nestled together in their tiny home.


 

Just a few minutes ago, I stopped by the picture window again. As if on cue, one of the birds suddenly pushed itself off the edge of the nest, like a jet backing away from the terminal. For a few long seconds, it hung suspended in mid-air, flapping its tiny wings good-bye. Then it propelled itself forward, darting up, up and away. 

 

  
I spotted two newly-laid eggs just over a month ago. And now, one bird remains in the nest. No, I’m not crying. Not me. Pfft, why do you ask?
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53 Comments

  1. Oh Phoebe!
    Helen looks cozy in the nest…
    (yes, now that I named them I think of them that way..what? is that weird?)
    Perhaps she is Phoebe O’Feather, since she took off on St. Patrick’s day!

    • I thought of you and your darling little girl…some parallels with her going off to school, no?

      *hands you a Kleenex, and takes another for herself*

    • I know it sounds kind of silly, but I was really glad I got to see him/her fly for the first time. I would have felt kind of cheated if the baby flew off without one last goodbye. I’m such a sap.

      “Have a glorious life.” What a wonderful wish!

  8. Squeak sat in her little nest
    and poked her sister Squawk
    I think, she said, that we should have
    a sister-sister talk.
    If we don’t fly I’m just afraid
    that one of us will smother
    And, Lordy, that will disappoint
    our helicopter-mother.

    Fly safe, little birdies ~

  12. Ooooh! It does kind of feel like they’re your own bird-babies leaving, doesn’t it? Gets me a bit weepy, too…(sniff). I’m so glad you shared their little nursery with us!

  14. My kid and I both like these pics. How awesome!

    Put out a hummingbird feeder (if you haven’t already) close to where they are and see if they stick around!

    One time when I was working in the garden, I was wearing gloves with a big red stripe on them. A ruby-throated hummingbird came over and buzzed around my gloves and poked his bill on them a couple of times before he figured out there was no food there. So maybe you should wear red in the garden!

    • Oooh, that was a magical moment, wasn’t it? Hummingbirds are so persistent!

      I put out a feeder last week. I hope it encourages them to stay.

      Thanks for sharing the adventure with me. 🙂

    • I’ve got a bird feeder hung on my patio, around the corner from the tree. Dave (from Wild Birds Unlimited) warned against putting it too close to the nest, which would encourage other hummingbirds to invade the area and scare away the mama.

    • I saw one flying in a nearby grapefruit tree yesterday afternoon. I like to think its that bird. Dave (from Wild Birds Unlimited) said it’s likely they’ll hang around for at least a little while.

    • Oooh, how cool is that! Are they Costa’s, do you know?

      Your baby’s getting big now, too, I’ll bet. I’m looking forward to hearing more about him/her!

  18. Fly away home, free bird… Go sing your song, oh lovely hummingbird..

    I think I am supposed to feel happy
    but I’m not

    One left home
    It depresses me
    to think you may never see her again
    and if you don’t
    we won’t

    Oh how I love the photos
    HOW did you get those?
    They are gorgeous
    And how did you post them here with the rapid turn-around you did?!

    I want to be rational and maternal. I know kids leave.
    But we don’t have to LIKE it.
    Do we? {}

    -Pamela

    • I know…it’s like a child that eventually has to make its way in the world. It’s definitely not easy to let go. I know you already know this, down to your core. And no, we don’t have to like it. But we have to accept it. Sigh.

      Actually, my picture-taking set-up is fairly primitive. I’ve set up a tall ladder next to the tree. I climb to the highest rung, lean forward as far as I can, and snap the pictures with my Nikon CoolPix (on the macro setting). No special equipment, no photographic training. Just a love for those babies that I want to document for their baby “album.” 🙂

    • It’s been such a miraculous experience. I can’t begin to say how much fun it’s been to share it…so thank YOU for coming by for show-and-tell. 🙂

    • I’m still choked up. I keep checking in on the one remaining bird, appreciating it for as long as it’s willing to stay.

      I’m glad you liked the posts…Thanks for sharing the journey!

  22. Bye, bye, little guys!

    Okay, if you’re not crying, I’ll cry for you! (But I know you’re putting on a brave front! Sending virtual tissues!)

    • She does seem to like the extra room she now has. Things were getting pretty tight in that tiny nest. Plus, she gets more food, which will make her strong enough to fly on her own really soon.

  26. Awww … Goodbye little one! The one that’s left in the nest looks like she’s wondering, ‘What the heck just happened? Where did she go?” I hope she doesn’t get to lonely before she dares take the plunge over the edge of the nest.

    I’d definitely put out a feeder to keep them around. It will be neat to see if you can tell who is who when they come back next year to reuse the nest.

    Thank you for taking us on this journey Melodye. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it! What a great photographic picture book you have. All you need to do is add some captions or poetry and it’s ready to submit.

    • She seems to be happy to have more room in which to spread out. I’m guessing that, plus extra food from Mama Hummingbird, will make her strong enough to take wing on her own really soon.

      Thanks for your encouragement about writing something up about this…I’m seriously considering it. I need to educate myself about the possibilities first, though. I know nothing about the children’s market.

      Did you read my latest post, by the way?? 🙂

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