How big is a hummingbird's nest?

The one in my backyard is an inch and a half wide and high! I thought since the babies had fledged I could pop up on the ladder to take a picture of the nest with a ruler beside it because some of you had asked how big is the hummingbird's nest?

Well, since one of the babies had been hanging out in the same tree for the past week I didn't want to cause a ruckus and climb the ladder and freak the fledgling out. So I waited. And waited. And waited.

Today the baby left the tree and flew to a neighbor's tree then up to the power line. Which was the perfect opportunity for me to haul out the ladder with tape measure in hand.

I also took a picture of the inside of the nest. It looked so soft and cozy. It's lined with spider webs, feathers, and a few tiny pieces of moss.

Amazing!

Since birds can't smell and mama was nowhere in sight, I touched the inside of the nest with one finger to see what it felt like. I can tell you it's like there was nothing there. It was like feeling air, but softer. Those little babies had it good hanging out in their comfy little nest.

If you want to view all of the baby hummingbird posts since day 1 just CLICK HERE.

Baby Hummingbird Day 28: Scratching and Stretching

It's been four days since my last baby hummingbird update. Yesterday I went out in the backyard and parked myself for a bit hoping to see one of the babies return to the yard to feed on the flowering plants. Instead, I saw mama hummingbird return to feed one of her fledgling babies again.

It was tucked up high in our water gum tree. It was constantly doing the same things over and over again as I watched:

1. Itching and scratching. . .

2. Stretching out its tail and wings. . .

3. Sticking its tongue out. . .

4. But most of all, waiting for mama to return for another feeding.

Photographing has become more challenging for two reasons. The first is the higher up in the tree the baby is the harder it is to get details. The second, and bigger problem, is with so many branches and leaves in front of it I have to use manual focus or the camera wants to focus on everything that is closer to me than the bird. But even that is easier than it used to be. The moment I begin turning the ring on my lens to focus, the camera switches to an extreme close up view that magnifies a tiny portion of the subject matter allowing me to get the sharpest possible focus. It's a very nifty feature. It does make me a little motion sick sometimes. When that happens I'm forced to suffer for my craft :)

I also saw this yellow finch. I'm guessing it may be a female goldfinch because I have seen males in the neighborhood from time to time. Whatever it was it was a nice surprise :)

Baby Hummingbird Day 24: Learning to eat

Wow. Baby almost looks as if it knows how to gather nectar on its own. In actuality it was sticking its tongue out into thin air. The flowers you see were a good foot behind the tip of its tongue.

It sat in the tree, patiently waiting.

Ah! Mama hummingbird was on her way for an afternoon feeding. Backlit here I love how you can see the transparency of her wing feathers.

Baby opens wide.

It's rather odd how all of a sudden the baby looks bigger than its mother.

But she still feeds it.

The feedings take mere seconds.

And then she's off.

Now fed, baby has to decide what to do next.

Ah! Another flying practice session.

A moment later we had lift off and baby was out of sight both higher and deeper up in the tree.

If you want to view all of the baby hummingbird posts since day 1 just CLICK HERE.

Day 23: Last baby hummingbird is out of the lemon tree

I can't tell you how glad I was to see little Itty out of the lemon tree yesterday. The day before I suspect he/she had spent the entire day, beneath the hot sun, completely exposed on the bare branches of the dying tree. So yesterday afternoon I suspect it was Itty, not Bitty, I saw back in the original tree the nest was in. It's leafy and heavily shaded so I know he/she had to feel more comfortable than the day before.

And mama was still dropping by for feedings.

Wondering how much longer I'll be able to pick out the babies in our yard. Soon they'll look identical to the adults. For now, I'm just enjoying them being here as much as possible :)

If you want to view all of the baby hummingbird posts since day 1 just CLICK HERE.

Baby Hummingbird Fledglings Day 22

Imagine my surprise when I went out in the backyard yesterday and discovered little Itty was still in the lemon tree and Bitty was flitting from trees to power lines along our backyard!

Mama came and fed Itty three time in one hour. I only saw her feed BItty once but I'm sure she was having to locate and feed both of the babies. It's a job made much more complicated now that Bitty is so mobile.

And Itty tried hard to practice flying once while I was out there, moving from one end of the lemon tree to the other. Here's a video of all three feedings and the flying:

But if you can't view the video here are some photos. . .

And there's Bitty practicing sticking his/her tongue out. Perhaps getting ready to eat from the hibiscus tree all on his/her own.

Will they be here another day? I hope so :)

If you want to view all of the baby hummingbird posts since day 1 just CLICK HERE.

Fledging day! The baby hummingbirds have left the nest

Imagine my surprise when on Day 21 I went out to photograph Itty and Bitty yesterday and immediately realized the nest was empty. There were no little heads and beaks peeking out over the edge :( I worried I'd missed them fledging but then realized the mama hummingbird was chattering up a storm as I approached the empty nest. Aha! That told me the babies were still in the yard. I paused and began looking around and who did I see sitting in our dying lemon tree?

 Bitty!

It took a few more minutes to locate Itty!

I stepped back and mama flew in to feed her babies. I read on Wikipedia that when a baby has the feathers and muscles to fly the stage is called "fledge." But if they are still being cared for by its parent(s) it is called a "fledgling."

This was one of two meals I watched her feed her fledglings in the lemon tree.

It was a really precious moment.

All done.

Mama flew away but remained nearby.

You can watch a video of the first time I saw Bitty fluttering his/her way up the tree. After the feeding from mom, quite suddenly, little Bitty took off to practice flying up on the phone and power lines in our backyard.

I couldn't help but feel anxious as Bitty flew up to the cable passing over our yard. He/she just looked so vulnerable and little all alone up there.

Up on the wire Bitty looked relaxed and tasted the breeze.

And then took off even higher!

Heading up to the power lines along a transformer he/she couldn't have looked tinier.

Meanwhile Iitty rested quietly in the tree with coloring that worked as perfect camouflage with the branches and leaves.

With closed eyes Itty dropped a wing and raised a foot to give a scratch.

Mama came back for another feeding. I took this blurry picture that seemed like a fitting way to close this post and our adventure of following Itty and Bitty. It's kind of like how memories can look in your mind over time all sweet, soft and nostalgic.

I'll definitely be suffering from empty nest syndrome. There's a chance mama will lay a second clutch in our yard this year. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping she will.

If you want to view all of the baby hummingbird posts since day 1 just CLICK HERE.

Baby Hummingbirds Day 20: Papa?

Got home late tonight and saw this. A male hummingbird sitting at the tippy top of the hibiscus tree. Not sure if this is the papa of our babies but I thought it was odd that this is the first time the mother has allowed another hummingbird onto the property since the babies were born. If he wasn't backlit you'd be able to see the bright red patch under his throat.

I thought this image was pretty lovely.

And here's Itty and Bitty. Itty is in the back and Bitty is in the front. It's pretty amazing how Itty almost looks like an adult hummingbird already!

If you want to view all of the baby hummingbird posts since day 1 just CLICK HERE.

Baby Hummingbirds Day 18: Lots of feathers both old and new

That's Itty on the left and Bitty on the right. And I think those are those long stringy feathers that were growing off their backs from the day they first hatched.

Remember what they looked like just 14 days ago when they were four days old?

I took these pictures at almost 6:00 PM tonight so they were settled in for the evening. They  opened their eyes just long enough to give me a peek. Look at those long wing feathers! Ah those little shoe button eyes and pointy beaks just get me every time I look at them.

And their tails are just oh so cute. Here you can also really see the disparity between how much larger than Bitty Itty is. Itty's tail feathers are much longer and more developed. Or, perhaps Itty is a boy and Bitty is a girl and that's why they're different sizes. Either way, I really love how their beaks are silhouetted in the haze of the blurring that occurs when you shoot with a macro lens.

I'll be shooting them very early in the morning tomorrow so we'll see if they're more awake or perhaps, even more sleepy than they were tonight :)

To view all of the baby hummingbird photos and videos just CLICK HERE