And Now There Is One

Sunday morning, I discovered one of the baby hummingbirds have flown away from its nest. It was just a matter of time. The remaining baby, hatched exactly 3 weeks ago today, looks so lonely by himself.
If you look closely, parts of the nest looks chewed away and flattened so both growing birds could fit on it.

To my amazement, I spotted the baby that flew away only a few feet away from its nest. Surprisingly, I thought once it leaves the nest, it would be gone forever, but it actually knew the way back to the nest and made several appearances there, but it flies with such skill now that I am not fast enough with my camera.
With each flyby, I think it was showing off to its one-day younger sibling to see what he could now do.

- Karen

Hummingbird Update

Going on 3 weeks since they hatched; yesterday, one of the babies tested its wings for the first time and flew from the nest. Without much control, it got tired quickly and eventually landed on the ground.
My husband picked it up and put it back on the nest.
Here is the little guy or gal. From what we read, hummingbirds do not have a strong sense of smell, so the momma bird will not know it was touched by a human.

This morning, Friday - July 9th, both hungry babies were craning their neck looking for momma to feed them.

Momma comes on a regular schedule for feedings. Sadly, in a few days, both will fly away and not return to their now familiar nest. They will be on their own hunting for bugs and nectar. Soon, they will be adults and start the cycle all over again.
It was entertaining and educational while it lasted. I hope it was for you also.

- Karen

Wordless Wednesday

To view other Wordless Wednesday posts, click here.

More Baby Birds

It has been about a week since my last update about the baby hummingbirds. With some patience and very sore feet standing very still, I was able to capture the momma bird feeding the two-week old babies.

Today, July 4th, they have grown so big that one of the baby's tiny wings is hanging outside of the nest.

While we were watching the baby hummingbirds yesterday, we discovered another baby bird in our backyard. But, this one is not so lucky, it fell out of its nest somewhere and its mother has abandoned it. We waited and waited, but the momma never came back for it. The poor baby was chirping for its momma and for food.
We bought some baby bird food formula and a syringe to feed it.

It looks so sad. We had to bring it to the local wildlife rescue because we are going out of town and cannot take care of it. The wildlife rescue worker said lots of people bring lost baby finches to them to raise and then to release into the wild once they can fly and take care of themselves.

- Karen

View From the Top

I heard stories of having to wait in line for over an hour to visit the Empire State Building. We arrived early and bypassed that unpleasant scene.
With all those velvet roped lines, you can imagine what it would be like during peak season.

From the 86th floor of the open-air observatory, visitors can look through the openings of the metal grates and see the Empire State Building cast its own shadow over neighboring buildings on a sunny day.

Looking south, one can see Lower Manhattan where Wall Street, government offices, Greenwich Village, Chinatown, Little Italy, ...etc. reside.

Looking northwest, you can see Central Park and the Upper West Side, home to many famous celebrities and museums.

From a few posts back, I wrote about the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. You can see both islands here. They look so small from a distance.

- Karen

Wordless Wednesday

To see other Wordless Wednesday posts, click here.

Rooftop Statues

When the New York City tour guide pointed out several of these statues on the rooftops, I had to admit, it was a little unsettling. If she did not point them out, I might not have noticed them.

The artist, Antony Gormley, created these naked figures, 31 in all, in his own image. Some are ground-level according to this article. The purpose of this art project called "Event Horizon" is to have people become aware of their environment.

If you happen to be in New York City between now and August 15th of this year, look up, and let me know what you think. Here is a map to find all 31.

- Karen

Hummingbirds' Progress

This was Day 7 since the discovery of the eggs.
And, this is Day 10 on Saturday, June 26th.
More feathers and one of the babies appears to have his eyes open.
In no time, they will be fluttering here and there.

- Karen

Ellis Island Exhibit

Although I do not think I have any relatives that arrived to America through Ellis Island, I was always intrigued with its history including this exhibit. If you looked at it just right, you saw only the American flag. If you move just slightly, you will see miscellaneous faces.
I asked several of the employees and volunteers there, but surprisingly, no one was exactly sure the name of this exhibit. After a quick internet search upon returning home, did I find out that it is called American Flag of Faces.

If you look at the same exhibit from the other direction, all you see are faces. As you can see, it was quite a popular exhibit.
Where do these photos come from? If you donate $50 to the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, you can include a picture of yourself, your family, or your ancestors on the American Flag of Faces photo gallery. I believe donated photos are selected from this pool and displayed on this exhibit.

At the back of the exhibit is a simple video screen with ordinary people explaining how they or their ancestors became citizens.

P.S. To readers curious about the baby hummingbirds, they are still healthy and growing. I thought I would take a break from that subject and return to it in a few days. No worries, I am still monitoring their progress daily.

- Karen

Wordless Wednesday

Baby hummingbirds on Tuesday morning (June 22nd) , 2 days old on the left and 3 days old on the right.

To view other Wordless Wednesday posts, click here.

- Karen

Hatched, Part 2

Sure enough, we checked on Sunday morning, the second egg hatched. The momma bird did not even get a chance to dispose the shells yet.
The baby born on Saturday is noticeably larger in size.

This is how they looked like on Sunday evening. Both have shifted from their morning position and even in opposite directions from each other.

Both back in the same position on Monday morning and you can see a little more feather on each, but their eyes still appear to be closed.

- Karen

Hatched, Part 1

Saturday morning, June 19th, I discovered one of the two hummingbird eggs have hatched.
I read female hummingbirds normally lay two eggs and sometimes hatch close to the same day. After birth, the momma bird leaves the nest regularly to hunt insects for the baby.
In this case, when momma went searching for food, I took the opportunity to snap the above photo. The baby eyes are still shut. I am hoping the second birth is not far behind.

Someone mentioned that I should give the babies names. Any suggestions?

- Karen

Momma Bird Sits Patiently

By accident, we discovered a hummingbird's nest 7 feet high up a tree in our backyard.
The momma bird sits quietly and patiently on her eggs waiting for them to hatch. She was not distracted by her duty as life passed below her.
The tiny nest sits in the center of 4 branches. I was afraid a strong wind would topple it to the ground, but momma has more experience than me in building nests.

Catching momma coming in for a landing.

When momma flew away momentarily to visit with other hummingbirds, my husband got on a ladder to see what surprise was inside the nest. We hope to see 2 baby birds soon.

To read a multi-part story about baby bird births, visit rainfield61's posts.

- Karen

Wordless Wednesday

Model of the Statue of Liberty's foot

To view other Wordless Wednesday posts, click here.

Visiting the Lady

This looks like a corkscrew, but in actuality, it is 354 narrow, steep, and spiraling steps up to reach the crown of the Statue of Liberty.
To come down, there is another set of spiraling stairs, at least, I never ran into anyone; otherwise, we would have been stuck.

A closer look at the stairs. To make it easier, I had to lean to one side to make the journey easier. I thought they would never end.

The view up there is spectacular. Here is a view out one of the "crown" windows. You can partially see Lady Liberty's right arm that holds the torch and vessels in the bay.

The space around the crown is quite cramped. This park ranger working up there that day had to stand on the edge so people can work through. During the summer, the temperature up there gets over 100+ degrees. All the rangers must be in good shape to make it up those stairs regularly.

A few readers had mentioned they are planning to visit New York City soon. If you want to visit The Crown section, buy your tickets online before your trip. The tickets to the top were sold out on the day of my visit, but fortunately I had purchased my tickets a month in advance.

- Karen

Statues of Liberty?

My first time seeing the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island.
Is it wrong to say she is huge? :)

A replica of the Statue is seen throughout the city like this one by the seaport.

Statue of Liberty performers taking a break. Not sure what they do aside from standing still.

Have a great weekend!

- Karen

Wordless Wednesday

To visit other Wordless Wednesday posts, click here.

Puzzle Fun

My husband and I were quite enamored with New York City during our last visit that we purchased a 4D puzzle of the city as a souvenir.

After several weeks of looking at the box sitting on the shelf at home, we opened it on Sunday and began the undaunting task of putting the 700 pieces together. My last jigsaw puzzle was probably over 30 years ago.

We laid the foundation of the streets, rivers, and then the buildings. Lo and behold, after working together for most of the day, here is the finished product.

You can click to enlarge the photo for an overhead view. We definitely relived our vacation while putting it together.

For more information on this type of puzzle, visit the 4D Cityscape website.
- Karen

This Suits Me

I think I had a better view of this unique information kiosk from atop a double-decker bus than if I was walking on the street.
There was no doubt I was traveling through New York City's Fashion District where lead designers and fabric suppliers operate.


On a side note, several readers last week asked me the location of the "Curious Blue Beams". Since I had no clue, I consulted with Daryl, a New York City expert and blogger. It is indeed an art piece called "The Wall" by Frosty Myers located on the corner of Broadway & Houston.
Hope that answers your question...

Thanks Daryl! Check out her blog "Out & About in New York City".

- Karen

Wordless Wednesday

LOVE sign in New York City

To read other Wordless Wednesday posts, click here.