What are the odds?

After spending several beautiful days working in the yard this weekend, when I woke up to a beautiful sunny day I decided that I was going to go to Nisqually rather than finish up the yard work yesterday.

As it turns out, I’m really glad I did or else I would never have gotten to see these hummingbird nests that “Nisqually Bill” pointed out to me after we’d started talking.
Needless to say, the nests were virtually invisible, tucked away in the deepest part of
the tree where little or no light penetrated even on a this brilliant day. In this nest, the fledglings were about to fly. As we got to see one of the chicks lift off the net, and then settle back down, not quite ready to venture forth by itself. But it was clear that she would be flying within a few days.

Hummingbird feeding chicks

Less than a hundred yards away was another nest, this time with much smaller chicks, with the mother still sitting on the nest keeping the chicks warm most of the time.

Hummingbird feeding chicks

I was grateful to Bill for showing me the nests, but I was amazed at some of the things we discovered we had in common through our conversation. It turned out that we had been on the same boat to Vietnam, a small boat that carried only two battalions. He fought several major battles with members of my battalion after I had returned home. He asked if I knew Colonel Staley, who had been my battalion commander, and said he lived in Tacoma. Of course, from there we went on to share several similar observations about being a platoon leader and about our attitude toward the current wars. It is, indeed, a very small world.

He had to leave for an appointment, and I spent most of the rest of the day walking by myself, managing to get some very good pictures of the herons who seem to have returned in large numbers.

At the very end of the hike, I was talking another gentleman and while we were standing there talking we noticed this Black-Capped Chickadee return to its nest:

Black-Capped Chickadee entering nest

I was beginning to sense a real theme for the day.

8 thoughts on “What are the odds?”

  1. What beautiful pictures!

    We get a lot of hummngbirds to our feeders, but I’ve never been lucky enough to find an active nest.

  2. Stunning. You are so good to share these lovely pictures here. I am filling my hummingbird feeder today, as soon as the syrup cools.

  3. Your nesting photos are good medicine, as are the stories of your life then and now.

    My old friend who died on April 20 sent me a bird nest from Vietnam when he was there in 1970. The second photo of the hummingbird nest recalled that to me. The nest he sent was one which was built to hang freely from the branches of a delicate-looking tree. I have the photo he sent of what those nests looked like in the trees. I’ll do a post on my blog when I get my blog energy back.

    Yes, indeed. What are the odds?

    “Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.”
    (Albert Einstein)

  4. patience and showing up, you manage to make the most of these days, and good that it brings some peace.of course there is also that magic touch you have with the camera.
    kjm

  5. Amazing pictures, as always…have you published a book of your nature photography? If not, you really should!

    Small world – what a coincidence that you were both on the same boat and served with many of the same people.

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