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This morning I was outside pulling weeds around the base of the tower in the front yard. A hummingbird buzzed by above me and landed  rather precariously on a gold ornament hanging on the west side of the tower. Two other hummingbirds quickly appeared, danced in the air a bit, and then dashed and vanished. A large black crow streaked in a low curve through the air to the north near the tower, sailed up high above the neighbor's Norfolk Pine, and disappeared in the same direction as the two hummingbirds. It seemed that perhaps it was chasing them. All of this happened in seconds.

The first hummingbird I'd seen remained perched on the golden ornament. It appeared to be having a hard time. The feathers were disheveled and it didn't seem to want to move. Perhaps the crow had attacked it. I sat down on the front steps of the house watching the tiny creature. I've seem many hummingbirds over the years, but I've never seen one remain stationary for so long. Occasionally it would stick out its long tongue(like black sewing thread) or open its beak in a wide yawn. Several times it lifted its wings and then let them fall. Several times it pooped. Fifteen minutes passed. I decided the beautiful little thing must be terribly wounded. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, another hummingbird appeared next to this hummingbird. In that instant I realized that my wounded bird was actually a chick. This parent had come back with food and was now transferring it into the baby's open beak. The unsteadiness, the ruffled coat, the look of fear that I'd
imagined was all because I was witnessing a baby hummingbird fresh from the nest. It was feeling its wings for the fist time. I went inside the house, ran upstairs and got my camera, and came back down. The parent was gone again but the baby was still there where I'd left him. I shot off several of photos of this chick. The parent never came back. Or, and probably, it was close by watching me, watching out for the baby...waiting for me to leave.

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