Hummingbird Close Encounter...

Sometimes some of the most extraordinary things happen in one's own backyard. First some back story.


The past couple of days my nephew has been staying with us. It's really a big deal for T Rex - he's been wanting to have his cousin over for a sleep over for quite some time. When we scheduled this a couple weeks back it was just about all he could talk about. It has been nice to have a brief break from non-stop chatter about Lightning McQueen and Thomas the Tank Engine. Nana also joined in on the fun, too.


We did library time on Tuesday - Dede was a great sport and kindly sat through toddler tales even thought he could have roamed the huge library (I would have chosen the latter option but he said he wanted to hang with his cousins). Then we had a great Mongolian BBQ lunch before the kids had naps. After naps we headed to the pool. Upon arriving back home, Nana and Dede saw a hummingbird hit one of our back windows. I intentionally keep the feeder away from the windows to avoid this. Up to this point, this was the first time I have seen this happen. 


Nana quietly told me about it in case it was a fatal crash and I needed to do some clean up without the little kids being sad. I went outside and this is what I saw (see photo below) - our tiny feathered friend was stunned but alive. I picked him up as I have done many other times with some of the other stunned birds. Remember the last time T Rex was able to hold one and thought he was holding a "real life tweety bird"? 

 

I called T Rex and Dede outside to see the teeny tiny bird. It was so amazing and very small. I have actually always wanted to hold one. These birds completely facinate me. In fact, I have even attended a local bird watching group who bands hummingbirds. I did this with the hope of seeing one up close. However, this is the most up close encounter I could have ever imagined. 

I held him for a bit, T Rex held him for a brief moment, and then Dede held him while I snapped this video. However, the coolest moment was when T Rex reached over and kissed the little bird on the head. When I took the video I asked him to do it again which he happily complied with. How many of us can say we've kissed a hummingbird? Pretty amazing. My teenage nephew thought it was pretty cool and if you can impress a teenager then it must be awesome. 

The photo of Dede holding it shows you how tiny this little bird was. Its feathers were so soft, its tiny heart beating so fast, such delicate wings, and an impressively long beak. We were most intriqued by how his tiny and sharp claws held on to our fingers.

After a while the wind came up and as it blew through his wings it made them flutter. He fluttered while perched on Dede's hand and then off he went. We did see this same hummer back at the feeder a few hours later so we know he is doing well.

Here's that video of T Rex giving this sweet hummingbird a  kiss. Pardon the chaos - we were just not sure what was going to happen from moment to moment.

Have you ever had something unexpectedly wonderful happen to you? Or ever have any cool close encounters?