My feathered friend

This hummingbird started refurbishing the old nest on this shell parol before spring officially began. The old nest had been battered by the elements and it needed patching up and retrofitting. So, when it was ready, little hummingbird sat in it and laid a couple of eggs. It sat there for about 2 weeks until the eggs hatched. I could see what was going on every time I'm in the kitchen, as the nest is right there smack in front of the window. Later on, she was feeding her little brood, flying out to find food and coming back to feed them, then sitting on them.

The mother feeding her chicks.

It was a delight to see this going on right before my eyes. And anytime I have a chance to take a picture, I drop whatever I was doing and grab my camera.

Yesterday morning I was in the kitchen watching her come and go, feeding her brood. Then after lunch as I was washing dishes I looked up and to my horror a big blue jay was right there on the parol. I screamed. The blue jay flew away. My husband hastily went outside to the patio to see if any damage had been done. I watched him, trying to read his face. Then he came in the kitchen and said, "They are gone, the blue jay ate them. I never thought those birds are predators."

Oh, no, not again. A year ago some predator did the same thing to this same nest. I felt so bad for the mother hummingbird. So sad.

Mother hummingbird came back and looked around then flew away. A few minutes later she came again; tried to land on the nest but couldn't, some parts of it came loose. It hovered for a while then flew away. She came back a few times more then finally realized that her brood are gone then flew away and never came back.

My husband and I were looking forward to the day the chicks are big enough to fly on their own. It is, however, not going to happen, not anymore.