BajaNomad - Hummingbird Nest

Hummingbird Nest

Bob H - 3-17-2007 at 05:52 PM

I know this is not Baja stuff, but I am so excited that I found a hummingbird nest while trimming frost bitten leaves from my hass avacado tree today. Check out this photo with two hummingbird eggs in the nest that are smaller than the tip of your little finger. WOW.... I'm going to be a father! Hah!
Bob H

Sallysouth - 3-17-2007 at 06:49 PM

Oh my goodness! Bob, is that nest as close to the ground as it appears to be? Great photo! How fun to wait and watch as they "warm up" and hatch!How big around would you estimate the nest? Looks tiny!! :wow:

Bob H - 3-17-2007 at 06:57 PM

This nest is about four and one half feet above the ground. The eggs are the size of jellybeans so I'd say the nest is about 3" in diameter. I also have a photo of the mother sitting ON the nest to keep the eggs warm.
Bob H

Bob H - 3-17-2007 at 07:16 PM

Here's momma hummingbird on the nest tonight...
Bob H

Ken Bondy - 3-17-2007 at 07:17 PM

Great shot Bob H!! Would be great to also see the one with the mom on the eggs. ++Ken++

Natalie Ann - 3-17-2007 at 07:52 PM

Ah Bob - what you have to look forward to!
My experience last year:
http://www.bajatrekker.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=251

(Edited 5/19 to show changed link)

[Edited on 5-19-2007 by Natalie Ann]

Natalie Ann - 3-17-2007 at 08:24 PM

Bob - I forgot to tell you what outstanding photos you've taken. They're really great... and I look forward to all the updates. It's almost like being a mama all over again. :yes:

Nena

Bob H - 3-17-2007 at 09:41 PM

Natalie Ann.... I can't wait to see them hatch.... Your photos are fantastic!
Bob H

[Edited on 3-18-2007 by Bob H]

Bob H - 3-17-2007 at 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ken Bondy
Great shot Bob H!! Would be great to also see the one with the mom on the eggs. ++Ken++

Go back and look. She's doing her duty!
Bob H

Iflyfish - 3-18-2007 at 02:52 AM

Wonderful pics and the link to Natalie Ann's, amazing!

Love those nature shots.

Iflyfish

Cypress - 3-18-2007 at 05:29 AM

Neat :tumble:

Ken Bondy - 3-18-2007 at 07:01 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Natalie Ann
Ah Bob - what you have to look forward to!
My experience last year:
http://www.bajabirding.org/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=251

Natalie Ann those are FANTASTIC! ++Ken++

[Edited on 3-18-2007 by Ken Bondy]

DianaT - 3-18-2007 at 08:38 AM

Great pictures --- great little birds.

Thanks Bob and Natalie Ann

bajamigo - 3-18-2007 at 08:53 AM

Fellow hummingbird lovers, any advice on how to keep the hooded orioles out of my h-bird feeders?

The Gull - 3-18-2007 at 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by bajamigo
Fellow hummingbird lovers, any advice on how to keep the hooded orioles out of my h-bird feeders?

Yes, acquire an Oriole feeder and get the type that has a little plug that keeps the hummingbirds from getting into the Oriole feeder. I have both and there is no poaching of food supplies.

tripledigitken - 3-18-2007 at 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by bajamigo
Fellow hummingbird lovers, any advice on how to keep the hooded orioles out of my h-bird feeders?

A bb gun works great! :lol:

Bob,

Nice pictures, they are very photogenic birds. We have an army in our backyard. With an occasional Oriole visiting just recently.

Ken

[Edited on 3-18-2007 by tripledigitken]

Bob H - 3-18-2007 at 12:50 PM

The hairs that you see in her nest are from my dog Shelby (who is a bigtime shedder) as we comb her out in the back yard every other day. Unreal to see this in the construction of her nest.
Bob H :wow:

Natalie Ann - 3-18-2007 at 03:13 PM

Bob - This particular hummer will sometimes return to/use the same nest the following year. Mine returned and seemed to search and search for her old nest... was very upset and vocal about its absence. After several days of "mourning", she began work on another. I have not been home this month to see the new family, and of course they'll be gone before my return. As I said before, I'm soooo looking forward to seeing the rest of your pix.

Note: Disappearance of nest was due to some folks I hired to trim the lawn - they thought my butterfly trees could use some trimming too. :no:

And thank you everyone for the photo kudos... I'll pass them along to Steve.

Nena

danaeb - 3-18-2007 at 03:14 PM

I have hope....

Thanks Bob and Natalie for sharing your pictures.

I have been thinking for the last couple of weeks about my mama hummer from last year and wondering if she would return this year to raise another two babies. After reading the thread today, I went out to the location in the big ficus where last year's nest was. I pulled up a patio chair to peer into the old nest, but sadly, it was abandoned. Oh well, no mama, I thought and went back to garden puttering. About five minutes later, I was walking under the ficus again, and there was a hummer hovering about 12 inches from my head in the distinctive way they do. Not exactly threatening, but very clearly warning you to BACK OFF. So, I think I'll probably have another family this year. I'll just have to look out for the new location.
By the way, for several years, I had a pair of nesting hooded orioles in my palms. About two years ago, crows (ravens, blackbirds?) took over the neighborhood and chased off the mockers and the orioles. The crows don't seem to be as abundant this year and the mocker community has returned but the orioles haven't. Anybody know about this phenomenon of the crow invasion in San Diego? I'm not a birder, but having lived in the same neighborhood for 18 years, I've become accustomed to our bird neighbors and the changes are unusual.

Bob H - 3-18-2007 at 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by danaeb
Anybody know about this phenomenon of the crow invasion in San Diego?

We bought our house in San Diego overlooking a canyon preserve in 1994. Not many crows then, but now they are abundant, and have chased off many other species. However, the crows do not seem to mess with hummingbirds. As a matter of fact, I don't see any other birds that will mess with a hummer... they are just too good at flying, forward, backwards, still, sideways, etc. that none of the other species will compete with them. I like that. It may be the main reason they build their nests so openly.
I'll try to keep you all posted of my little babies until hatching, unless they hatch after April 1st when we will be in Brazil for almost four weeks.
Hummingbirds are my favorite.
Bob H

[Edited on 3-18-2007 by Bob H]

Bob H - 3-19-2007 at 12:41 PM

One of the two eggs hatched TODAY! It's soooo small. I'll try to get a photo posted soon.
Bob H

danaeb - 3-19-2007 at 01:47 PM

Bob - how do you get close enough to take pictures without annoying the mom? Every time I got close to the nest last year, the mother hummer would be in my face immediately.

Dana

Bob H - 3-19-2007 at 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by danaeb
Bob - how do you get close enough to take pictures without annoying the mom? Every time I got close to the nest last year, the mother hummer would be in my face immediately.

Dana

Dana,
I zoom in. She seems to know that I will not harm her. I stand still for quite a bit and then slowly move in. You seem to learn how close you can get and stop there.
Bob H

Sallysouth - 3-19-2007 at 10:22 PM

So cool Bob! what a neat experience to watch that!Waiting for the next pics of babies!!

Bob H - 3-20-2007 at 11:19 AM

Here is a photo of the newly hatched Hummingbirds in our back yard avocado tree.
Bob H

Natalie Ann - 3-20-2007 at 06:16 PM

Congratulations Bob on the birth of your babies! Watch closely now... they'll be feathered before you know it, then quickly crowding the nest. I could hardly believe how quickly ours went from barely having any down to flying away. Please please keep the photos coming.

Nena

Bob H - 5-15-2007 at 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Natalie Ann
Bob - This particular hummer will sometimes return to/use the same nest the following year. Mine returned and seemed to search and search for her old nest... was very upset and vocal about its absence. After several days of "mourning", she began work on another.

Nena, I left for vacation before the babies left the nest. But my daughter said it was only a few days before she saw them flying around the nest and the feeder. Then a couple of days later the momma started destroying the nest. Little by little the nest is being destroyed. Today there is only a thimble full of nest left on the branch. Is this normal?
Hopefully, a new nest will be built next year and I can follow and photo the entire process.
Bob H

Natalie Ann - 5-15-2007 at 07:19 PM

My goodness, Bob, my hummer surely did not do that. In fact, she seemed quite attached to that empty nest and could often be seen sitting on the wire from which she watched the nestlings.

I had read that Calliope hummers sometimes return to use the same nest the following year... so I was quite protective of ours. Then one day during a team yardwork effort, someone mistakenly pruned that limb from my butterfly tree (no one wants to own up to having done it - grin).

It didn't present too much of a problem at first, but early this year when the mama was again insterested in feathering her nest... what a racket went up - for days! She sat on the wire and raged, she flew to where that branch was no longer and she raged. She buzzed me while I was working in the flowers beneath the tree... buzzed with intent to do damage.

I was not home for her nesting time this year, so do not know where she might have nested. I do hope to lure her back for the 2008 show.

Bob H - 5-15-2007 at 08:53 PM

NA... It's taken several weeks for her to destroy the old nest. She's amost done with it.

I'll keep you posted on what happens next year. Thanks for the great response, as usual.
Bob H

amir - 5-15-2007 at 10:08 PM

Thank you all for the words and pictures in this thread. You guys really LOVE birds! It's inspiring me to become more observant and learn more about the feathered creatures I see all around our new home in Todos Santos. I've seen many species but hardly even know their names, much less of their behaviors... I needed a new hobby in this new, more tranquil life... thanks again...
--Amir

woody with a view - 5-19-2007 at 08:45 AM

yesterday while at a friend's graduation from SDSU (Latin Studies) i noticed a hummingbird buzzing around the tree i was standing next to. upon closer examination i noticed the nest and her two babies.

100_2050 (Small).jpg - 28kB

woody with a view - 5-19-2007 at 08:49 AM

the other folks standing around probably thought i was nuts. these are the only 2 out of 9-10 that came out.

100_2045 (Small).jpg - 35kB

aquaholic - 5-19-2007 at 09:54 AM

...years ago, when John Sturges lived in Posada, he had a nest of hummingbirds hatch behind his house. They'd sit on the clothesline and drink a drop of hummingbird nectar from your finger. They were not 'humming' flyers at first, either. They were plenty clumsy in the air and numerous times we'd feel a 'thunk' on the bill of our hat where they had crash landed. It was great to have close contact with them until they were full fledged 'hummers'...now, if I could only learn how to scan a photo so I could send them along.

Any oldtimers out there who remember some (any) of John's movies..???
That's probably fodder for another thread, anyway...Can you imagine the outcry today if someone tried to kill sharks the way they did when he made "The Old Man and the Sea"..???

Bob H - 5-19-2007 at 02:27 PM

Looks like they LIKE avocado trees!
Bob H