Kate Wyland
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Last Sunday I had a unique experience I’d like to share. As many of you know, I love nature and am happiest in the outdoors and around animals. While I’ve always considered the horse my spirit animal (have had one most of my life), I also seem to have an affinity to birds, particularly hummingbirds. This fall we moved to a new house on a hill and bordered by open space woods. I LOVE it here and most mornings spend some time on a small deck off our bedroom meditating and connecting with the beauty. Usually I hear and sometimes see lots of birds, including a couple of hummingbirds that visit our feeder.
Sunday we got early spring weather with lovely warm temperatures and after spending a long time outside, I went inside leaving the screen door open. A few minutes later I heard a banging racket coming from the kitchen. I dashed down the hall to find a hummingbird caught between the wood blinds and the window, frantically trying to get out. I pulled up the blind but by that time he had exhausted himself and was collapsed on the sill. I got a towel, gently picked him up and took him out onto the patio. He just sat there for a long while and I got a good look at him (gorgeous iridescent scarlet head and green body). I even pet him gently. Eventually he recovered and took off, seeming okay.
Hummingbirds are such magical creatures and are symbolic of joy. I took that experience as a reminder to not get trapped by the minutia of everyday life and to focus more on enjoyment. I tend to be much too serious and not appreciate things as I should.
The next morning shortly after I went out on the deck a bunch of birds flew up and settled on a tree near me—a couple of robins, a flock of tiny grey birds and two smaller birds with yellow bellies. That has never happened before. It felt like they were greeting me. Gradually they departed and I was back to just hearing them. I haven’t seen the hummer since, but I have heard him “clicking” nearby and his mate has visited the feeder. Hopefully he’ll visit again too.
Have you ever had a magical animal experience? Do you have a special connection to any animal?
photo credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/10863006@N04/3196344580″>Annas Hummingbird Flight2</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a> <a href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/”>(license)</a>
photo credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/99994983@N00/4949050781″>Sitting Pretty</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a> <a href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/”>(license)</a>
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FOREWARNING
Healing is her life. Will it be her death?
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Wyoming Escape
Two dead bodies. One dirty cop.
Is she next?
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Images – A Love Story
She’s learned to hide from life.
Should she hide from him?
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Connect with Kate Wyland:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKateWyland
Twitter: https://twitter.com/katewyland
Website : http://katewyland.com
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Writing Wranglers and Warriors 
I love Hummingbirds. I love all birds, except Starlings. If a Starling gets in your house and builds a nest they will come back every year. It’s hard to get them out, and I don’t know how they got in. We filled every crack we could find. Birds remind me of my mother. I especially like the redbirds and the bluebirds. We have a Woodpecker family at our River house. This is such a lovely post and right in time for me. Today I’m thinking about all the beauty God has surrounded us with. Thanks Cher’ley
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Glad you enjoyed it. I know what you mean about starlings. Had to deal with barn sparrows. They build mud nests and they’re hard to get rid of. Never had the problem inside a house, though. Thank goodness.
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Glad you were able to help out the hummingbird. When I reached the end of your post, I thought for a moment you would say that the hummingbird returned and perched near you. Oh, well. While at my dad’s several years ago, we saw a bird (I don’t know what type) fly into the living room picture window, knocking itself out. At first, we wondered if he had died, but then he came to and flew away.
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Unfortunately, I think he really scared himself. I hear him and see the female but he hasn’t appeared while I’m around. 😦
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What a perfect gift. Thank you for sharing it. I’m that way with cats, they just are so special to me. Love the house cats and big cats. Doris
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I love cats and dogs too (and horses, of course) but there’s something very special about hummers. I’ve had them peck at the window to let me know the feeder is empty. And buzz around totally ignoring me. But the ones here seem more skittish. I guess they have to get to know me.
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What an interesting experience. Your sharing this made my day.
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It made our day too. Couldn’t believe how beautiful he was up close.
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I admit I feel connected to all animals. My time in the field photographing them had led me to experience animals on a whole different level. I never imagined getting so close to wild creatures before I started photographing them. Somehow most of them know I don’t mean them any harm. Hubby thinks I am a bit to comfortable around most animals but I pay attention to their body language so I know when to back away. I must be doing something right, I have some great photos and I still have all my fingers and toes.
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Your photos are wonderful and show a great sensitivity. Animals can read our energy and I’m sure they know you mean them no harm, as long as you don’t violate their safety zone. Keep up the good work.
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Great experience shared. I love watching birds also. We had a robin who decided nesting inside our bathroom would be just the thing one time. He threw himself against our window every morning beginning at 5 AM and for at least an hour for about three weeks. The kids even taped pictures of mad faces to the window but he wasn’t deterred. Hope he still had time to get a mate and precreate by the time he wised up.
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Poor robin! I wonder what made him fasten on your bathroom. Glad he finally gave up.
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Reblogged this on L.LEANDER BOOKS and commented:
Follow the magic as Author Kate Wyland tells a tale of a rare hummingbird encounter in her blog post on Writing Wranglers and Warriors. It’s precious!
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What a lovely post Kate. I have many hummingbirds that come to our feeders at the campground all summer. I love watching them. I liked your comment about feeling an affinity with a certain animal/thing. I’ve always believed that God provides us with a “spirit animal” to watch over us and keep us from harm. Having a hummingbitd is delightful! Thanks for sharing!
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Thanks for the re-post. I’ve had a number of interesting hummingbird encounters. They are such delightful quirky characters. I hope “mine” get more comfortable around us and become friendlier. Got to keep the feeder full. 😉
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That’s a lovely reflection, Kate. It’s a horrible feeling when you see a creature trapped inside a house. I’m going to make a more focused attempt to feed the birds in my garden in the future because so many of my neighbours have chopped down their mature trees and their habitats have gone. I have a number of different types of birds (I can’t tell if they’re the same ones or not) who return to my garden each year and I look forward to seeing the magpies and the woodpigeons. It’s been a while since the tiny coal tits have nested but maybe this year will see them return.
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I need to get out a bird book and see if I can identify the tiny birds I occasionally see. Mostly I just hear them or see them streak by too fast to see clearly. They have plenty to eat around here but since we’re in a drought, they probably have a harder time finding water. I was happy to discover a birdbath along our fence that is hooked up to our watering system so that it is refilled automatically. I’m going to make sure to keep it clean.
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I love hummingbirds too. They’re so beautiful and it’s like magic when they hover, their wings beating so fast. I love that you were able to pet him! How lucky. I love watching squirrels as they are everywhere in my neighborhood. Unfortunately, Hana barks at them and chases them away.
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Love your post, Kate! I haven’t had bird feeders set out in quite sometime and now I think I should do so again! We once lived in a small house near an open space, and we had SO MANY different types of birds there, including hummers. I miss seeing all the variety of birds at the house we now live in. We have hummers that come to our cabin area, but I can’t put out feeders because of the bears. Thanks for a lovely post!
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