A Tiny Feathered Hero

For more years than I can now remember we have had a family of flycatchers nest somewhere on our home. Last year was under the deck, the year before it was on the electrical meter and this year it was next to the door that goes under the house. Her two chicks had just hatched prior to the wildfire.

When we evacuated she was on the nest with her two little guys and I wished her well.

When we got home two weeks later one of the first things I checked was her nest. Two little heads were popped up looking back at me. Then a few days ago I noticed one of the little ones in my garden giving it his all to fly more than a few feet. Each try he made it a little further and finally he fluttered off to his new found freedom.

That mama flycatcher is to be admired as she withstood extreme heat and smoke to stick with those little guys and raise them to be on their own. The heat on the house was intense and the smoke had to be thick and choking but she stuck with it and got those little guys airborne. With the grass fires around the house she must have been terrified at times but through it all she stuck by those little chicks. Another hero if you ask me......