Hummingbird Nest to Nestlings

I am mixing a retro post and a new one in this blog to show the progress of a female hummingbird completing a nest and discovering that she indeed laid an egg the next day.  Then adding some shots from today of the Anna's Hummingbird nestlings at San Elijo Lagoon being fed to complete the story from hummingbird nest to nestlings.

March 14, 2011

Walking around the south end of the San Elijo Lagoon I found a hummingbird nest that was abandoned a few months ago when we had the huge rain storms.  Now, it is being renovated by a young female hummingbird.

 

I believe that it is the same female that started building this nest a few months ago and she suddenly stopped the construction when the rains came and the nest eventually dried out and became weathered. Now it is being restored at an urgent pace. Her tongue is like a little glue gun... zap here and zap there. All the decorations are in place.

She is working at breakneck speed... she takes off for a few minutes and back again to the nest with more spider webs and nest materials, all the while she is pushing out the diameter of the nest to accommodate her body and eggs.

As she puts the new material on the nest she is using all of her body to stretch the nest out, her wings are pushing outward at the sides and her legs are pushing out towards the back,  wiggling and wiggling.

When she left to get more materials, I took a peek into the nest ~ no eggs yet!

Coming in for a landing, LOL, she really does look heavy with eggs, doesn't she?

It is amazing how she uses her tongue to pat the spider webs in place.  She doesn't stay in the nest for more than a few minutes... just flies and keeps working. 

 

She pushes with her chest as hard as she can to stretch the nest outward, wiggling her body for a perfect fitting nest.

 

The way she is working, it appears that it is getting close to time for her clutching. She is completely engrossed in getting the nest ready.  There is almost a feeling of panic, like, the eggs are coming, the eggs are coming!!!

She flies off and brings more materials.  This goes on for quite a while and I am standing by quietly thanking her for letting me watch all that she is doing.

All the pushing and stretching and renovation of the nest appears to have worn her out. She takes a little rest. 

She really appears to be ready to lay her eggs. I bet there will be one in there by tomorrow. She sits and rests for a few minutes. But soon she is back working on the nest again.

She goes back and forth a few more times. Now it appears as if she is going into labor as her body seems to be in a egg laying posture.

 

I decide to leave her to her egg laying and hope that no predator has seen all her activity.

These hummingbirds are really a joy to see and watching these beauties is like a ray of sunshine. 

The next day I find that she has laid an egg!  

But a few days later when I went back to check the nest appeared to have been raided and torn apart and the female was no longer around.


This year I got to see the beginning of incubation. On January 25, 2015, I spotted this nest while I was photographing the Black-and-White Warbler. 

Then today, February 11, 2015, I was at the San Elijo Nature Reserve Nature Center Loop Trail and was lucky enough to witness a feeding of two nestlings that appear to be about a week old. Here the female Anna's Hummingbird lands next to the nest to feed her two nestlings. Even though the eyes are still shut, the nestlings feel the wind from the mom's wings as she approaches and lands next to the nest. That is why they already have their beaks open and ready to be fed. 

She feeds the one in front of this photo immediately but it appears to be just a quick feed. More like testing to see how hungry this one is.

She checks the other one... 

It's as if she is giving them a little fluid first to lubricate the mouth and throat. 

She is always checking the surroundings for dangers. The nestling in the back is licking and swallowing and tasting the fluid. Look at its cute little tongue sticking out. 

 

Back to checking the front nestling... Again, it appears to be more getting the throat passage moistened and preparing the nestling for a good feeding.

Now she appears to be concentrating on regurgitating more food for the nestlings. 

 

She feeds the nestling at the back. This time there is quite a bit of food passed as you can see in this photo. It appears much like the way we fuel up at the gas station putting the nozzle in the tank and squeezing the pump open to fill the tank.

In this photo, you can actually see some kind of insect passing down the beak of the mom hummer.

The mom appears to use her tongue to get the larger bits and pieces of insects to get past the throat opening of the nestling. 

 

Now she tends to the nestling up front. 

 

Lots of fluid passed this time.

Using her tongue like a plunger she guides the food to the crop.

 

A good close look at her tongue working the food down. 

 

Slowly she withdraws her beak from the little nestling. 

The nestling closes his mouth as she brings her beck out of its throat.

The adult scans the area again and the nestlings appear sleepy. The eyes are still closed on these nestlings but maybe by tomorrow they will start to open. These baby hummers grow very fast and will fledge in about 18 to 24 days from hatching. You can see the pin feathers already covering the nestlings' heads.

She checks the first nestling to see if he is still hungry.

Looking to see if it is full.

Satisfied that the first nestling is full, she checks the second one for hunger. Nope, he isn't hungry either. Both nestlings settle down to a nap.

Feeding done for now, she goes to her favorite branch for some sun and preening. The process of collecting nectar and insects will start all over again.  The female will be tending to her nestlings for several days after they fledge while taking them to the food sources so they can feed themselves. What a wonderful opportunity this hummer gave me for photographing the feeding of her nestlings. I thank her and leave her enjoying her quiet and relaxation in the sunshine. 

Just below the hummingbird nest, a Green Heron makes an appearance in the "duck pond". I have a feeling there may be a nest near by. Every year for the last four years, the Green Heron pair has returned to San Elijo Nature Reserve to build their nest. Welcome back!

Just as I was walking away from the "duck pond" area, a Great Egret lands on the large snag that is located in the middle of the pond. What a beautiful sight to see... this huge bird perched on the end of the tall snag. You can see that there is not a cloud in the sky, we are having another Santa Ana day in Southern California and it will be in the mid-eighties for the next few days. Another day in paradise and it's time for me to head for home. 

Have a wonderful day everyone.