Our Hummingbird Babies

We have had the joy of watching a cycle of life unfold in a nest on a tree limb just a few feet above our heads in our front yard. My son noticed a hummingbird making a nest above one of our front yard benches so we were aware of the nest before it even was finished. We watched the mama bird sitting there for a couple of weeks it seemed. She and the nest were so small- she was just a little larger than the Christmas tree bulb hanging close by. One day when she was not in the nest, my son took a mirror and held it above the nest and saw two tiny babies. It wasn’t too many days before we could see the tops of their beaks pointing upward to get fed, then soon we saw their little heads and necks stretched forward.

The nest seemed poised in an insecure junction of only two thin branches. It wasn’t a completely round nest as most hummingbird nests are, but was mainly attached on each side to a piece of the tree bark. I was a little nervous about its weakness.

When they were a pretty good size (about a whole inch long), I woke one night because of a rain storm- a cloud burst of steady rain that lasted about a half-hour. I was really anxious about that little nest and its occupants. The next morning we had another cloud burst. When I finally got out to examine the nest, the nest was falling apart and one of the babies was clinging upside down to the bottom of the nest by his little toe nails. I was able to pry him loose from his strangle-hold and put him back into the nest and try to hold the damaged side back into place. I yelled for my husband to get some duct tape (my solution for everything) or something to secure the nest. He found some Jacaranda stems that were tiny and limber enough to bend around the one side of the nest to help hold the side up. (You can see the 2 stems in the picture. Click on the "Our Hummingbirds Spring 2005" post if you don't see it.) However, over the next few days the nest kept shrinking until the twigs became more like a banister for them to lean against. The other side of the nest started to look more like a deck with no support at all.

We were worried that the mother might abandon the baby that I had touched or even both of the babies, but thankfully we soon saw her feeding both of them and they continued to grow very quickly.

A few days ago, I was trying to move a tiny branch out of the way so that my husband could get a picture later, and they both got startled and flew down out of the nest. They looked like little feather parachutes drifting down. (They didn’t look like they could fly back up.) I was able to grab the one that landed on the bricks at my feet and put him back into the nest, but we couldn’t find the other one. My husband said he thought he’d landed in the azalea bush, but my husband, son and I all looked and couldn’t see him. Finally, my husband had to get to the bank before it closed and my son had to go into the house to take care of his daughters so I was out there by myself. One of the cats came over to see what all the commotion was about and immediately started sniffing the azalea bush. I saw him go rigid with attention and I knew that he had found him, and I was able to catch him just as he made a grab for something in the bush. I got the cat shut up in the house and went back and finally found the little bird clinging to a branch in the azalea bush.

We were afraid that we would startle the first bird again when putting the second one back into the nest, but my son was able to do it so slowly that the first little guy stayed put. We were relieved to see the mother feeding both of them later.

A few days later they were so big that they were leaning over the banister on the one side of the nest and sticking out over the other side, but they were still looking for poor old ma to come with the grub. I named them Peter and Chris because I thought they might not ever leave the nest, (my kids do leave, but they keep coming back!), but today I was working just under their nest and they finally soared off. They were flying fine. I saw Mama just a short time later, but I didn’t see her approach the empty nest so I don’t know if she hovered around or what. I hope she’s off taking a nap somewhere.

I expect to see them in the back yard where the favorite hummingbird foliage is. One of our huge bushes has hundreds of little purple flowers that attract the hummingbirds and the butterflies.

I don’t know if hummingbirds come back to their old stomping grounds when it’s their turn to make a nest, but someone told me that they never reuse the old nest. I hope they find a better spot as my nerves are shot.

For Mothers’ Day, my husband got me the Hummingbird Tea Pot floral arrangement that was advertised in the Parade magazine in the Sunday paper so we can always remember our special experience.

Click on the post "Our hummingbirds Spring 2005 (4 days before launch)" to see a picture of the babies if it is not already showing.


Here is an email that a friend at work sent me that has a link to a web site with wonderful photos of the various stages of the birth of a hummingbird:

THE BIRTH OF A HUMMINGBIRD
This is truly amazing. Be sure to click on NEXT PAGE at the bottom of each page; there are 5 pages in all. A lady found a hummingbird nest and got pictures all the way from the egg to leaving the nest. Took 24 days from birth to flight. Because you'll probably never in your lifetime see this again, enjoy; and please share.

http://community-2.webtv.net/hotmail.com/verle33/HummingBirdNest/