This past Spring, a sweet female Rufous hummingbird, who had flown thousands of miles to breed here on Salt Spring Island, gifted us with an exquisite nest and then, two sweet baby girls right outside our front door! My photographer brother, Michael and I documented the growth of these tiny nestlings and finally, they fledged in mid-May. It was miraculous that they had both survived not only unseasonably cold, rainy weather, but also a severe windstorm. But their talented Mama had made a very cozy, sturdy, well-anchored nest.
As it happened, I had to catch a ferry to Vancouver about an hour before these little ones took flight. So I was really glad I had taken photos of our new hummers just before I left.
In this portrait shot, one of the hummers was just about ready to fly, but needed to have a little nap while her sister took in the new world around her. The expression on their faces is so precious, as are those windblown, downy feathers.
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