THE HUMMERS

You may recall the story of the hummingbird who built her nest in the garden of our Laguna Beach cottage, and of the two hatchlings that emerged from the eggs she sat on so patiently.  Not having seen her for a while, we had grown concerned for her welfare, as well as for that of her chicks.  Our fears may have been well-founded for one of them at least.  But today, while talking on the telephone in our dining room, Ellie spotted the mother bird perched on the thin stem of one of our potted plants, bringing food to one of the chicks perched alongside her.  I ran for the camera, but alas, she had flown by the time I was ready to take a picture.  The baby bird, however, was still awaiting her return, and I snapped this shot:

I waited around for a while, hoping to get a picture of both of them together, but the youngster flew off before its mother's return.  Too bad.  But we were thrilled to see them, and will keep watching.  I'll report back, of course, if we manage to get other pictures to post.