To this day, I can still remember the first time I ever saw a hummingbird. At first, I figured that I was seeing things. I wasn't even sure if I should tell my parents or not. I stared at it for a while before it flew away. Later, as we walked on, my dad casually asked me did you see that hummingbird? Immediately, I wanted to know everything about that strange, magical flying creature. We got a book on hummingbirds, And I read it from start to finish.
Although hummingbirds actually are native to the area that I lived in, they were pretty rare. I spent many afternoons in the backyard, watching for hummingbirds, but they never came. Finally, my mom suggested that we build a hummingbird house. I could not imagine anything more exciting than having a family of hummingbirds staying in my own backyard! We went out and got the hummingbird birdhouse kit that very day.
A hummingbird house is an extremely simple thing. Although designs vary, all hummingbird houses consist of a small platform for the hummingbird to build its nest on, some sort of shelter, and some cotton or other soft material for the mother bird to build a nest. Getting the hummingbird to actually choose your house, however is another matter entirely. That hummingbird house sat vacant for a long time. I would watch it everyday, but there was never a hummingbird living in it.
No one had thought about getting a hummingbird birdfeeder, but as soon as I found out that such things existed, I suggested it. By this point, my parents were a little bit tired of my obsession with hummingbirds, but they thought they'd give it a try anyway. The hummingbird feeder was an instant success. Although the hummingbird house continued to sit unoccupied for a while, soon we were seeing the birds feeding at the feeder every afternoon. It was only a matter of time until they discovered the birdhouse nearby.
I actually hadn't checked on the hummingbird house in a while, but one afternoon I happened to peek in at it. To my surprise, there was a nest there! I watched from a distance, and I was soon gratified to see the mother bird returning home after a day of feeding. There has been a family of hummingbirds living there ever since. To this day, I still get to visit them whenever I visit my parents at their home.
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