These birds are incredible in every way, David! What enchanting photos. And good job still getting out there in the ceaseless rain. It snowed on this side of the Cascades today, and I finally gave up on that break in precipitation and put my boots on and weathered the storm with the animals. It was absolutely worth it. (But to your point, I had a fire to come home to...).
A hummingbird fest!! Albeit sadly wet and cold but all the more wonderful for their sheer tenacity to save their teeny weeny young. Thanks so much for giving me a close up window on their lives. I walked a costal path last week during windy stormy looking skies with my daughter here in Spain. We watched cormorants on rocky outcrops elegantly diving off for fish in huge waves to feed their young. Then flapping wings so voraciously to rid themselves of all the sea water only to stand like huge black shiny umbrellas, wings and feathers spread out taut and wide in the wind and partly clouded sun to dry off while the young sheltered underneath them. Then it all began again! All the while, 3ft tall gulls, big enough to feed a family of four, shouted, stomped, argued or slept on the shoreline. Probably full up on a meal of chips and burgers stolen from the local beach bars further down the road!
How beautiful they all are as they shelter them or their nests. We’ve got torrential rain and gales here in NE England. Also had thunder and lightning which wasn’t on the forecast.
I feel like a broken record, but thank you David for another delightful excursion into beauty of nature and these magnificent little hummers (a world away from the screwed up world we share). It has been pissing down rain up here too. I was in Delta a few weeks ago walking the western shore of Boundary Bay with friends, and had a new visual experience. Barely budding tree branches were weighed down with groups of bald eagles with partially outstretched wings trying to dry off in the sun. So even “the biggies” are vulnerable to the intense ‘soakers’ of our Pineapple Express.
From my end of things, Doug, you need never worry about sounding like a broken record. Hell, if we lived in the same neighborhood and met at the bakery each morning for coffee, we’d do much the same. I tell Mary all the time how much I appreciate excursions with her. She never complains that I’m a broken record.
That said, it would be grand to get in another wander one of these days.
I’m smitten with the vision of budding trees, heavy with Baldies trying to dry out. My mind will dance with that all afternoon.
Atmospheric rains are really something. We are 600 miles from the coast, but when these rains hit San Francisco, they are likely to pass through here. We are desert, so mainly we don't mind. Thank you for the inspiring photos. I had never thought what would happen if a bird got really soaked. Apparently, they can still fly.
Indeed, they can, but they are heavier, for the weight of the water, and it becomes more difficult to stay warm, as their downy coats loose their loft.
One of my responses to these beautiful missives of yours is to feel sadness and longing to see these nests and occupants with my own eyes. But today I was able to feel gratitude - pure gratitude- that you are sharing these images of creatures I will never see with my own eyes. Your persistence, skill with a camera, and loving attention create gifts that you share. And your gifts have contributed to my careful observation of the Goldfinch who attend our feeders and are changing colors every day before my eyes. Thank you!
Hi Steffany, I'm watching the Goldfinches here transform, too as their mating plumage grows in. I'm so glad you can touch the gratitude. It's where the good stuff is hidden.
Gorgeous photos of hummers on their nests. In some ways, the gray sky and rain make the colors and textures more vivid. Congrats on being a proud "uncle" to these cuties.
I spend a good deal of time wondering how wild creatures - birds, especially- survive in conditions that we humans couldn’t. Thank you for this intimate window into their lives on a few cold spring mornings. Your photos are pure artistry.
David your bird photos are a great distraction from the deluge of horrors we read about daily that our pedo area is doing for our country. I keep hoping for the big one to hit so we will no longer have to deal with him. Of course I realize the rest of the criminal clown show needs to go but just removing one access in there would help. I just love how you get the pics of the tiny hummingbirds. I do not think I have ever seen one in real life. Where I live in a 1960-1950 residential neighbor hood we are hearing an owl at night whooting after dark settles in and I think it is in the giant oak tree in the yard on the next street over. Too dark to see him/he. And I don't know if there is suppose to be a response or if it just makes the sounds for some other reason
If there’s no regular reply, your local owl could be advertising for a mate. Their voices carry amazingly and it’s so much more efficient to say hello to an entire neighborhood than to sit in silence wondering why the love you seek doesn’t come find you. I encounter a couple of pairs of Barred Owls regularly and they check in with one another from different directions and parts of the woods even occasionally during the day, as a way to keep track. Watched a silhouetted family of Great Horned owls one night at dusk gather at the edge of the woods, high in the backcountry of Olympic National Park, then fly off in different directions to hunt. All night from my tent I’d hear them check in with one another from wildly different directions, announcing their locations and presumably telling one another how the hunt was going.
Thank you for this wonderful glimpse on a rainy day in my neck of the woods. I’m going walking with a friend regardless. I have my handmade Frostline coat from the 80s so all is well!🤣
I love that you still have your Frostline kit coat. Mine is long-long gone, but what fun it was to sew your own outdoor gear and then wear it out in a storm.
I am a huge fan of going out in it anyway. Some really cool stuff happens in stormy weather, but you've gotta be out there to see it. Wishing you magic, my friend.
Your photos! I haven’t found a word to express how they make me feel. It’s like sitting on a bench in a museum, a classic painting by one of the great masters, hanging on the wall in front of me. I find myself exploring your photographs with the same intensity and care to the details. Zooming in on the nest; I love the intricate, beak procured, nature’s supplies—soft mosses and tender spring shoots seamlessly woven. And the hummingbird—every feathered detail, as you so perfectly said, “amazes”. If I could only zoom in closer, I might be able to see your reflection in that shiny black eye. Seems they are becoming familiar with you. Facial recognition of a new friend. There is nothing that says ‘trust’ like a soaking wet bird hanging out within touching distance on a rainy day. It is indeed humbling, don’t you think? Thank you for showing up in rain-soaked places, and sharing your found treasures. In our home, we dress for weather then head outdoors for the next adventure. Rain or snowstorms, my husband and I take a moment to look at each other with fierce playful smiles and say: “WEATHER!”
Perfect shorthand, Lor. You two are quite the pair.
Your thoughtful note, wildly generous is yet another gift. You're good at them and I'm always delighted to find one at my doorstep. Thank you for your thoughtful and ever so observant soul. The world needs more like you.
These birds are incredible in every way, David! What enchanting photos. And good job still getting out there in the ceaseless rain. It snowed on this side of the Cascades today, and I finally gave up on that break in precipitation and put my boots on and weathered the storm with the animals. It was absolutely worth it. (But to your point, I had a fire to come home to...).
A hummingbird fest!! Albeit sadly wet and cold but all the more wonderful for their sheer tenacity to save their teeny weeny young. Thanks so much for giving me a close up window on their lives. I walked a costal path last week during windy stormy looking skies with my daughter here in Spain. We watched cormorants on rocky outcrops elegantly diving off for fish in huge waves to feed their young. Then flapping wings so voraciously to rid themselves of all the sea water only to stand like huge black shiny umbrellas, wings and feathers spread out taut and wide in the wind and partly clouded sun to dry off while the young sheltered underneath them. Then it all began again! All the while, 3ft tall gulls, big enough to feed a family of four, shouted, stomped, argued or slept on the shoreline. Probably full up on a meal of chips and burgers stolen from the local beach bars further down the road!
Wonderful hummingbird tidbits, thank you.
How beautiful they all are as they shelter them or their nests. We’ve got torrential rain and gales here in NE England. Also had thunder and lightning which wasn’t on the forecast.
I feel like a broken record, but thank you David for another delightful excursion into beauty of nature and these magnificent little hummers (a world away from the screwed up world we share). It has been pissing down rain up here too. I was in Delta a few weeks ago walking the western shore of Boundary Bay with friends, and had a new visual experience. Barely budding tree branches were weighed down with groups of bald eagles with partially outstretched wings trying to dry off in the sun. So even “the biggies” are vulnerable to the intense ‘soakers’ of our Pineapple Express.
From my end of things, Doug, you need never worry about sounding like a broken record. Hell, if we lived in the same neighborhood and met at the bakery each morning for coffee, we’d do much the same. I tell Mary all the time how much I appreciate excursions with her. She never complains that I’m a broken record.
That said, it would be grand to get in another wander one of these days.
I’m smitten with the vision of budding trees, heavy with Baldies trying to dry out. My mind will dance with that all afternoon.
I thank you, my friend.
Atmospheric rains are really something. We are 600 miles from the coast, but when these rains hit San Francisco, they are likely to pass through here. We are desert, so mainly we don't mind. Thank you for the inspiring photos. I had never thought what would happen if a bird got really soaked. Apparently, they can still fly.
Indeed, they can, but they are heavier, for the weight of the water, and it becomes more difficult to stay warm, as their downy coats loose their loft.
How wonderful to have given us this sense of intimacy with these little birds. Thank you.
You're most welcome, Mary.
I'm so grateful for your kind note.
One of my responses to these beautiful missives of yours is to feel sadness and longing to see these nests and occupants with my own eyes. But today I was able to feel gratitude - pure gratitude- that you are sharing these images of creatures I will never see with my own eyes. Your persistence, skill with a camera, and loving attention create gifts that you share. And your gifts have contributed to my careful observation of the Goldfinch who attend our feeders and are changing colors every day before my eyes. Thank you!
Hi Steffany, I'm watching the Goldfinches here transform, too as their mating plumage grows in. I'm so glad you can touch the gratitude. It's where the good stuff is hidden.
Gorgeous photos of hummers on their nests. In some ways, the gray sky and rain make the colors and textures more vivid. Congrats on being a proud "uncle" to these cuties.
I'll gladly wear that 'proud uncle' badge. Thanks for the kindness of your thoughtful reply.
Sweet little hummer.love your pictures of them, and their trust in your calm
We're all just here trying to find the path, Tey. Some days I think they can sense that.
God, what I would give to join you on one of your walks 💖
You are most kind, Sabrina.
I spend a good deal of time wondering how wild creatures - birds, especially- survive in conditions that we humans couldn’t. Thank you for this intimate window into their lives on a few cold spring mornings. Your photos are pure artistry.
Thank you, Retta. I think about these things often, too.
David your bird photos are a great distraction from the deluge of horrors we read about daily that our pedo area is doing for our country. I keep hoping for the big one to hit so we will no longer have to deal with him. Of course I realize the rest of the criminal clown show needs to go but just removing one access in there would help. I just love how you get the pics of the tiny hummingbirds. I do not think I have ever seen one in real life. Where I live in a 1960-1950 residential neighbor hood we are hearing an owl at night whooting after dark settles in and I think it is in the giant oak tree in the yard on the next street over. Too dark to see him/he. And I don't know if there is suppose to be a response or if it just makes the sounds for some other reason
If there’s no regular reply, your local owl could be advertising for a mate. Their voices carry amazingly and it’s so much more efficient to say hello to an entire neighborhood than to sit in silence wondering why the love you seek doesn’t come find you. I encounter a couple of pairs of Barred Owls regularly and they check in with one another from different directions and parts of the woods even occasionally during the day, as a way to keep track. Watched a silhouetted family of Great Horned owls one night at dusk gather at the edge of the woods, high in the backcountry of Olympic National Park, then fly off in different directions to hunt. All night from my tent I’d hear them check in with one another from wildly different directions, announcing their locations and presumably telling one another how the hunt was going.
I will have to keep listening to see if it gets any replies. Thanks for the education!
You're most welcome. Hope you get to experience the call and response... It's quite inspiring.
Thank you
Ohh shiveringly lovely! "Insulating lid!"
Your lovely reframe made me chuckle, Paul.
Thanks for such kindness.
I love these hummingbird chronicles so much! Your photos are absolutely beautiful and so endearing. Thank you for sharing with us, David.
You're ever so welcome, Laura.
Drink deep, store up energy and kindness against the darkness...
Thank you for this wonderful glimpse on a rainy day in my neck of the woods. I’m going walking with a friend regardless. I have my handmade Frostline coat from the 80s so all is well!🤣
I love that you still have your Frostline kit coat. Mine is long-long gone, but what fun it was to sew your own outdoor gear and then wear it out in a storm.
I am a huge fan of going out in it anyway. Some really cool stuff happens in stormy weather, but you've gotta be out there to see it. Wishing you magic, my friend.
Your photos! I haven’t found a word to express how they make me feel. It’s like sitting on a bench in a museum, a classic painting by one of the great masters, hanging on the wall in front of me. I find myself exploring your photographs with the same intensity and care to the details. Zooming in on the nest; I love the intricate, beak procured, nature’s supplies—soft mosses and tender spring shoots seamlessly woven. And the hummingbird—every feathered detail, as you so perfectly said, “amazes”. If I could only zoom in closer, I might be able to see your reflection in that shiny black eye. Seems they are becoming familiar with you. Facial recognition of a new friend. There is nothing that says ‘trust’ like a soaking wet bird hanging out within touching distance on a rainy day. It is indeed humbling, don’t you think? Thank you for showing up in rain-soaked places, and sharing your found treasures. In our home, we dress for weather then head outdoors for the next adventure. Rain or snowstorms, my husband and I take a moment to look at each other with fierce playful smiles and say: “WEATHER!”
"WEATHER!"
Perfect shorthand, Lor. You two are quite the pair.
Your thoughtful note, wildly generous is yet another gift. You're good at them and I'm always delighted to find one at my doorstep. Thank you for your thoughtful and ever so observant soul. The world needs more like you.
Someday you need to come visit us at The Lakehouse….
Love to!!!