I’m very sad to report that one of the baby hummingbirds, Mitchell, met an untimely demise on Saturday, April 3, thanks to a dastardly crow. Sorry for the delayed report, but I thought I was coming to an untimely demise as well, in the form of the flu.

So here’s what happened: my husband had been noticing a crow in our backyard, which is kinda uncommon. Then a short while later he noticed it on the ficus tree, with the hummingbird nest. My husband chased the crow away then went to the grocery store to get me more lozenges, syrups, etc. When he came back … “Where’s the nest!?!” We can only assume the crow came back and took the entire nest with poor little Mitchell still in it. Cam either fluttered out or fell out. We found him lying directly under where the nest used to be. He was alive atop the pile of towels positioned underneath; A Tip of the Hat to Jeannie for the towel tip!

A wide shot of the tree, which is pretty protected (next to a house and under a pergola) and all of the blankets underneath.

My husband immediately Googled what to do while I cried. I know it’s part of nature and all, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it. So he made a makeshift nest from coffee filters and a hanging glass candle holder. Not ideal, but better than nothing, and put Cam in. The Internet assured us that the mother would indeed find the new nest and continue to feed the remaining baby(ies). You know what, it actually worked.

The makeshift nest. A coffee filter inside a glass candleholder. The fishing line is for stability.

So over the next few days everything was fine, Gloria coming and going feeding little Cam and Cam perched on the edge of the nest poised to fly. One day my husband found him on the ground and put him back in the nest. Yesterday, before I went to work, I found him on the ground and put him back in the nest. When I came home he was nowhere to be found. I looked everywhere, even in the blankets. I saw Gloria looking frantically for him. Nothing. I shed a few more tears. My husband comes home and informs me I was wrong, hallelujah – and for once happy to be – Cam was indeed inside the folds of the blanket. He saw Gloria feeding Cam through an opening.

It was after this last fall we decided (rightly or wrongly) to just leave Cam on the ground in the blanket nest. Thankfully he seems to be doing well and Gloria is continuing to feed him. He’s probably safer

Cam opening wide for breakfast. Glare is from the window, I shot this from inside the house.

Breakfast is served! Glare is from the window, I shot this from inside the house.

All together now ... awww!