It's been there since last spring.
I've probably walked by it at least 52 times.
Not once did I see the busy work of tiny beaks
constructing such a small feat of engineering...
Or peeked inside to gaze down at the tic-tac sized eggs...
Never heard a peep from baby hummingbirds.
Cuddled in this perfect cup of moss and lichen.
And then one morning last week,
the light just right, I glanced up at the exact spot to see it.
Just a little bump on a branch.
The supporting twig so brittle that it snapped off with no effort at all.
To think that the next day, the wind was so fierce that when I
walked by the same spot, a large limb had come down
on the main branch and took with it any trace of where the nest was.
Such a gift, first thing in the morning.
I gingerly brought it home, tucked in the palm of my hand
and nestled it in some Alder twigs anchored in epsom salts, imitating snow.
My elf keeping watch...
Myself marvelling at such a thing, and he, as if to say
"I've sat many times beside such a nest, chattering with the wee ones."
A birds-eye view indeed.
It seems like magic doesn't it?
To find such a minuscule miracle in such a busy, crowded world...
A precious gift.
8 comments:
oh I m so jealous....
and my elves are too
honestly,,,,that is so wonderful
so magical....truly a work of art...now I will be on the look out for one
Such a pity you didn't leave it where you found it so the hummingbirds wouldn't have to expend valuable energy to build a new one come spring. Now that would have been a real gift.
mrsc
Sorry, didn't realize the nest had fallen. So in this instance it
was a "gift" of sorts.
mrsc
mrsc...the hummingbird builds a new nest every year as part of the mating ritual. There's also evidence that the younger birds learn nestbuilding tips from observing the older ones in the spring. Most small birds are the same.
Crows, eagles and larger birds frequently use the same nest but do add to the exsisting one for teaching and mating purposes
I love it! So sweet ... Looks like a perfect cozy hand me down for Thumbelina!
Only very special people are allowed the privilege of finding hummingbird nests - this proves how special you are. And, yes you are totally correct - most birds do build a new nest every year - in fact, a wren for instance, will never put a new nest on top of an old one in a wren house - a mother wren likes a clean nesting box.
Happy New Year to you and TOm
You are one of the few people who would look at this small nest as a "gift". What a wonderful thing Nature is. How beautiful its art.
Don't you feel like you are "special" to have found this?
Happy New Year to you , my blogging friend. I look forward to your love of nature and photography in the coming year... and, of course, all the felted critters that will be created.
I will always be a follower...
ah only osprey and other birds of prey use the old nest to build on
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