In May last year, shortly after the Covid lockdowns began, a pair of hummingbirds began building a nest in the bougainvillea surrounding our patio, right outside the dining room window. We checked and discovered that they were Costas. The males are particularly colorful, with lavish purple decorations. The females are the more ordinary hummingbird green, but even though they are common, they shimmer like airborne jewels here in the desert.
During the pandemic we have had little to entertain us. This discovery was a big deal.
We watched the pair build the nest, a tiny bowl made of spiderwebs. They worked together, gleaning webs from surprisingly great distances. A friend discovered that his silvery hair was also considered suitable nesting material when he was dozing in the garden and was awakened by a hummingbird tugging at his hair. I was fascinated by their ability to construct a serviceable nest from such ephemeral material. We named our wild birds Helen and Henry Hummer.
Finally, the tiny nest, the size of a walnut, was complete and Henry left, his job done. The beautiful male Costas do not assist in the rearing of their young. Feminism has not yet become a part of Costa culture.
Helen laid her first egg one morning late in the month, and two days later, she laid a second one. Clyde Costa, as we named him, hatched during the first week of June. He was destined to be an only child – the other egg vanished. Helen diligently fed Clyde on a diet of nectar and fruit flies, nectar from our hibiscus hedge and fruit flies from our compost pail. Clyde grew quickly and soon filled the nest. Helen appeared to be very calm as we watched and photographed her chick. She did, however, fiercely defend her territory from other birds.
At the end of June, we saw that Helen was feeding Clyde, not in the nest, but perched on a twig near the nest. Then he fluttered his wings and flew to a neighboring tree. Helen followed and they flew off together. We were left with great memories and a new understanding of empty nest syndrome. Now, a full year later, we think of those tiny birds and remember the cyclical nature of life.
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Photo credit:Â Malachi Diaz on Unsplash
