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Saturday, April 13, 2013

Another set or hummingbird babies in my backyard

A few weeks ago I went in the backyard to see if the Anna's Hummingbirds were back nesting. CLICK HERE to view the reverse chronology of last years chicks from day 29 to day 1.

This year I'd noticed a new nest but it was beneath a canopy of leaves that completely obscured it from view. Or so I thought. I guess with the weight of the babies and shifting of the branches things had changed and today I was able to see them right out in the open in the same tree I photographed last year's nest in.


Based on the beak length and feather development I'd guess this pair of chicks to be around 17 days old.


There are those tiny eyelash feathers that haven't broken through their casings yet and their beaks are elongating into the long thin beaks like the adults.


Their back feathers are already a shiny, iridescent green.


And they're just as cute as and precious as Itty and Bitty were last year.


Sleep babies, sleep. I'll start checking in on you tomorrow.

Last year the babies fledged on day 21 so we may see them for just a few more days.

Last year I first spotted the mom sitting on her eggs in July, so that means we may have a second clutch later this summer. Hopefully I can even get a photo of the eggs when the mom leaves to feed, something I wasn't able to do last year.

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