I was pretty much gut-punched by the sudden and heartbreaking destruction by jays of an earlier backyard hummingbird nest and its two chicks that I’d been monitoring. It went from awesome to all gone in the blink of an eye and no matter how many times I’m shown how brutal nature can be, it never sticks.
In the days to follow I heard a familiar clicking that I hoped was their mother. And when I finally spotted this new nest in a tree next door I’d hoped it was the mother bird from the previous one, but when I saw two chick heads bob up above the rim, I knew it was a different bird.
These two are about the same age as the ones lost to the jays, and their nest is even more exposed than the previous one, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed extra tight that any marauding predator/scavengers don’t find it. Perhaps if tragedy befalls I’ll take it in better stride.
The noise you hear in the background is me doing some yard work after setting up the cam and spotting scope to get this footage.