now it's your turn...
I found another hummingbird nest! Part 2
this shot is one of my favs for today so far:
another feeding a little bit later:
Sunny, what a wonderful series. Thanks for sharing them and I look forward to more.
I would really love to see a picture of you in the middle of the road taking pictures of this nest!
I'm shipping my puter to dell tomorrow & will likely be without it for a week and am bummed!! Hardware probs, though that cannot be put off any longer while still under warranty.
I'll miss you , but keep up at the library!!
Sheri
anxious to see if they fledged this weekend.... any new pictures?
Sorry about the delay. Here's the conclusion to this hummingbird nest tale...errrr tail ;-)
Yesterday afternoon, the winds blew the clouds away. It was cold, very windy, but nice and sunny. The next time I went to check on the nest, the babies had moved a bit. This is a shot from a different angle (involved me hunched over on the little hedge risking poop from above...thank goodness nobody is taking pics of me while I'm taking pics, Sheri. LOL). Anyway, the babies were venturing out of the nest a bit at this point.
A bit of preening…
I went back out again a little while later, and they were both mostly out of the nest...
one more shot of that, just because they are so darn cute :-)
I was out doing errands yesterday, and was only able to check on the briefly, but basically they were in and out of the nest all afternoon. Here is another angle...
This is the last feeding I saw...here's mom coming in:
Aww, they are so fluffy n cute!! Sunny, you really did risk a "royal crowning" with some of those last shots. Those twins were in perfect position too!
Can you take a pic and at least show us where you usually are positioned for these photographic acrobatics?? I really am curious.
Havin fun with nature in the spring...it doesn't get much better than that!
the one on top of the nest has quite the appetite as usual :-)
Yep, I'll do that Sheri :-)
open wiiiide...
I think the new tiny spider web strings that appear each day are very interesting.
It looks like baby is about to poke mom’s eye out in this shot, LOL
"Bye mom, bring me more food soon!"
It was really fascinating watching mom work on the nest. I think I have a few shots of that on one of these threads. I did notice she chose a tree with lots of spider webs in it...how handy.
Here they are in the early evening around 6 pm. It was cold and very windy at this point.
This is a pic of what would happen when a gust of wind hit babies....
They plopped back into the nest, and I figured I’d see them in the morning…
However, they fledged sometime between 6 pm last night, and 9 am this morning. Here is what I found when I went to take my early morning pics:
Well, so noe they are somewhere learning & perfecting their flying & bug hunting skills. Your yard is so close & offers such enticing flora that I wouldn't be surprised if you see some fluffy, flappy, clumsy hummingbirds!
Happy photo hunting!
Sheri
another shot...it looks kind of sad, but I'm so glad they made it! I did check the ground around the tree, and there were no signs of them, so I think they did take off successfully. I sure hope the babies are out there and doing well! I feel so grateful to have been able to witness and record this, and I hope you've all enjoyed it too. :-) Thanks for letting me share my excitement with you!
I need to check on the other nest next door, and will also get a shot of my picture spot and post that as well.
This message was edited Mar 23, 2009 1:46 PM
Thanks Sheri!
Ohhh, what a nice ending(?). Perhaps you will see them at your feeder. Thanks for taking so many really good pictures so we could share this with you!
They are adorable birds. Thanks for sharing this!
Sunny, thank you so much for sharing this adventure with us! DH says that hummingbirds usually return to the same place year after year to nest...so maybe mom will be back again next year.
keep us posted on the other nest lol! just dont get hurt trying to take the pictures!
Yes, I second that emotion: dont get hurt in the process of wonderful photo opps!!
You're the greatest! and wew sure have enjoyed the fun along with you! ^_^
Who knows, maybe she's not done for this year? They do nest through Fall here.
Hi sunny! I just caught up on the adventures of the hummingbirds! It was sad to see it come to an end. :-( However, I'm so grateful that you shared all these inbetween moments. The second "Touche" pic could be a postcard. I love the way the light is coming through the tree and causing the glistening of the spider web! Just lovely. Also, thanks for being willing to be one of the people that will risk "looking crazy" to grab these kind of shots.
I have been 'that' person before. I ended up rescuing a few baby birds last year (I still don't know what kind they were, as I'm somewhat new to birdy world)...but there were three of them that for whatever reason ended up hopping around in my backyard. I have an outdoor cat, so I knew they would meet their demise quickly if I didn't do somethingg with them.
I couldn't find the nest, so I rigged an open-topped bird cage up in my silver maple onto the lowest branch. (Mommy was trying to get back to them.) So, for four to five days I kept a ladder up by the tree and birdsat. First thing in the morning, I would climb up in my robe to check on them and then take pictures. I KNOW my neighbors already think I'm crazy, so no harm there, lol! I would put the babies back into the cage as they ended up on the ground, still unable to fly. After a few days, one was gone in the morning, then another, then the last one. Unfortunately, the last one decided to make a run for it as my cat was at the bottom of the tree. I'll just say that it did not end well. ;-( However, it was a success otherwise! It was one of the neatest things I've ever experienced with wildlife.
Again, thanks so much for all the great pics that you've posted! Have a beautiful day. ;-)
Here's a cropped pic (not the greatest) of one of our hummers from a past season. My old Canon Powershot has served me well, but I just bought a Nikon D70, so that I can get better shots of the hummers and otherwise! Woohoo!
Speaking of cameras...Sunny, what kind of camera did you use to take these shots?
oh you'll love the Nikon D70! I have the D40x, also have the cannon powershot, the cannon rebel, and a sony cybershot lol! but love the Nikon the best.
Bye bye baby hummmers. Thanks again everso for sharing this sunnyg.
Thanks for the kind words! I'm so thrilled that they made it, but at the same time I miss my obsessive daily spying and picture taking...they were a complete delight to watch :-). I'll keep my eye on both of the nests for any new activity, and hopefully have some additional updates soon. Shelley, I have a Panasonic DMC-TZ3, and it's a great little camera. I hope you have fun with your new camera, and thanks for the pic and the sweet story about your bird rescue! Anjl, you have quite the camera collection..neat!
Aww, Sunny, you are an empty nester now :(( I have been looking at all your pictures. Awesome!! What an adventure ......uh, obsession? teehee.....great pics that you will treasure for a long time to come :)
Anjl, great to hear that about the Nikon D70! I bought it from a friend. It's my first camera that isn't just a point and shoot...and yes, you do have quite the camera collection, nice!!
I'm considering also buying the newest Canon Powershot; as I've heard good things about it. That way I could have a lighter and smaller one to take with me for more casual/social occasions.
Sunny, thanks for the info, kind words and well wishes taking shots! Your camera did a really nice job documenting those hummers. Hopefully, nature will bring you a new adventure to have a daily affair with, sooner than later! ;-)
thats why I have so many cameras :o) the rebels are film SLRs, the cybershot is a lil lightweight camera, good for outting in your pocket on walks n such, but the Nikon digital slr well....I use that one the most lol! still learning all the bells n whistles on it...someday Sunny and I will get together and take that photography class :o)
Thanks so much! I've been under the weather and trying to catch up on all the things I was supposed to do while I was out taking hummingbird pics. LOL. Also, my little parrotlet is sick, and a pesky egret is eating all the fish in my little pond. :-( Cissy, yep, it was quite an adventure/obsession! I'll send you an email in a bit...
Best wishes to your little bird - not a good thing when a parrot shows illness. Do you know what's wrong? Those egrets cause our macaw to fly around the house. I don't know is she's scared or if they just wind her up and she has to DO something. Luckily, our little goldfish can go deep and hide.