Friday, May 28, 2010

Hummers - not a happy day 05-28-10

This is the last picture I have of Hope and Hoku together - Hope is on the left. Sometime this morning a crow attacked the nest, knocked the camera off its 'hook' and both of the babies were gone. The owner of the camera immediately went home from work and after a 45 min search Hoku was located and returned to the nest. Hope has not been found.

Mommy Phoebe returned to the nest and sat on the edge with her body stretched over her remaining baby as though to comfort and protect him/her. We love to give our favorite animals human traits, don't we? Hoku just sat in the nest for the longest time, but after several feedings from his/her mommy perked up and started moving around, exercising wings and pooping over the edge of the nest. The business about an adult bird rejecting a chick that has been touched by human hands is a myth and definitely doesn't apply to hummingbirds. The camera owner spent a good deal of time searching his yard and all the trees and bushes for Hope, but no luck. Some of the people in the Chat Room are convinced that Phoebe knows where Hope is and is feeding him/her there, but, knowing crows as I do, I doubt it. It would be a miracle after 24 hours to find the little hummer alive and well. This has affected many people very deeply, including me - we are in mourning for this little creature we watched grow and almost reach the point he/she could fly away and live a long and happy live. Can hummers be happy? We like to think so!
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3 comments:

Loretta said...

Good Morning, After my visit yesterday morning, I opened Pheobe and viewed all day the very sad news of the missing Hoku. To view this unfortunate happening of nature reminded me how fragile our Earth is! Everyday is very, very special. Take care everyone.

Loretta said...

Correction: Hope is missing; Hoku is safe in the nest. L.

Patty ♣ said...

No words...♥