LYNNWOOD — There are things that people don’t get to appreciate. They’re busy.
And baby hummingbirds grow up and fly away too fast.
“The things that happen under our noses are incredible,” said Kevin Mack, a PAWS naturalist, who spent this spring photographing a hummingbird nest he found on the nonprofit animal rescue center’s property.
In late February to early March, he noticed a hummingbird gathering spider webs and lichen to build and camouflage a nest which was hidden in the bushes.
He spent weeks capturing images of the hummingbird, chronicling her feeding her young, getting screeched at by her iridescent green chicks for more food and watching the flurry of the young birds flapping their tiny wings.
“It’s a reminder to people of what we’re working for at PAWS, which is to see animals healthy and living in their habitat,” Mack said. “If we can see how they live, it helps us care for them better in captivity.”
At PAWS, staff rehabilitate sick, injured and orphaned wildlife before releasing them back into the wild. The no-kill shelter also houses homeless cats and dogs. Staff work with 2,500 to 3,000 sick, injured or orphaned animals every year.
“It’s nice for people to be able to see some of the wonderful animals we work with every day,” Coleman said.
Four years ago, Mack started writing an internal publication to further educate his coworkers about wildlife and reiterate their mission of rehabilitating animals. He also started keeping a blog on the PAWS website to reach more of the community.
“I want to get wildlife in the forefront of people’s minds,” Mack said. “The more we know about them and how they live, we’ll be better neighbors to them.”
Katie Murdoch: 425-339-3046; kmurdoch@ weeklyherald.com.
