This is the story of a photo opportunity that turned into a lesson from nature. My granddaughter, Jessica, came up to me this beautiful sunny afternoon. “Grandma, can I use your camera? There is a bird on the ground, I want to show you.” She is always quick to back up her request like this with a reason. I really love that my grandchildren want to share in my enthusiasm for picture taking.
And even at my busiest moments I find it hard to resist a photo opportunity when it is presented to me. We set off together to see this bird on the ground. It turned out to be a fledgling dove that was knocked from its nest during routine tree trimming.
This baby dove was on the ground, and he was not very happy about it. As we moved around him taking pictures from different angles he would turn to face us. He wasn't making much noise, but you could tell he was scared.
This photo opportunity was about to turn into a real adventure and a lesson from nature for the children. Jessica wanted to care for the poor thing since it could not fly and no longer had a nest to be put back into. So I told her if she could find a box to bring it home, she could take on the job of rescuing the dove. At the time I really thought it would be better off with us than being trampled under foot where it lay.
Jessica gathered leaves to create a bed in the box she carried the dove home in. I was very proud of 10-year-old Jessica as I watched her take on this new project. She and her best friend asked questions of all the right people.
They wanted to do everything to keep this baby bird alive. They learned just what kind of food they should feed the bird. Jessica and her best friend took turns caring for the bird. So his home was a mobile one between our patio and theirs.
One day when I went to check on the bird, I heard the mother dove talking to her young. She was actually guiding her baby from a distance. Each chirp from her beak would bring a reaction from the fledgling in front of me.
I felt like I was listening to a private conversation. I did not understand the language, but I was able to report to the children that our little friend had not been abandoned after all. I secretly wanted them to be prepared for the day this pet would get enough strength to fly off on its own.
The fledgling would fly from his new home out onto the patio several times a day now. And the patient children would put him back. I was feeling very grateful for the wonderful photo opportunity in our own back yard.
Then just a couple weeks later, this picture session came to an end as quickly as it had begun. The fledgling became brave enough and strong enough to fly into a nearby tree. The children tried to get it to come back to them. They just knew that it was not strong enough to survive in the wild on its own.
Then suddenly out of nowhere, a hawk swooped down and grabbed the unsuspecting baby right in front of their eyes. I saw the hawk from inside our home and knew instinctively what would happen. I grabbed my camera and ran outside. Sure enough the hawk was perched on a nearby tree with his prize still hanging from his claws. This was one picture I took with a heavy heart.
The children learned a lesson in survival that day. And we explained the best we could how this is the way the Hawk feeds its young. They did a ritual to honor the baby they had tried to save. This was their way of bringing closure. You never know what lessons you will learn when you are looking for photo opportunities in nature.
