Tag Archives: hummingbird eggs

Hummingbird Nest at Harbour Club Villas Part 3

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At about two weeks old, the baby hummingbird is filling the nest nicely
At two weeks old, the baby hummingbird is filling the nest nicely

The little hummingbird grows very fast in its’ third week of life. Mama is flying back and forth and feeding every half hour or so. When females feed their young she inserts her long bill into a part of their esophagus and passes to them a mixture that is both nectar and insects.

Such comfort but can you imagine if there were two babies.

Nestling being fed a mixture of nectar and insects
The mama will often perch nearby
Baby is getting quite big and can catch flying insects
Trying its wings so cute to watch
Squawking for mama
Showing perspective of just how tiny the nest is
Almost ready to fly at 18 days old
Strengthening his wings in preparation

At three weeks of age, the little baby hummingbird is looking like a real hummingbird. It keeps testing its wings more and more in preparation for flight. In the next few days, this little one will fly off and I will no longer be able to photograph him daily. Sad really but I loved having been able to catch this all on camera from nest building to baby’s flight.

Cute photo of mama and baby
Almost ready to leave
What beautiful and fluffy feathers.
One, two, three and off we go
First short flight to a palm frond
Hungry after that exercise and mama’s right there
Mama still feeds for a few more days
And here’s the very last photo of the young hummingbird

For many weeks I photographed this delightful hummingbird. A nest was built by the mother hummingbird and she laid two eggs. One egg disappeared but I was lucky enough to film the little nestling right through to a few days after leaving the nest.

Hope you enjoyed this as much as I did.

Marta

www.harbourclubvillas.com

Hummingbirds at Harbour Club Villas

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She built her little nest in the pygmy palm right at the entrance to the pool at Harbour Club Villas.

A Bahama Woodstar hummingbird built her tiny nest right at the entrance and walkway to the pool at Harbour Club Villas and Marina. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve walked by there and not noticed anything until that one time when I looked straight at her sitting on her nest. It is such a joy for me to be able to photograph these tiny little birds and right on our doorstep. Can’t imagine what possessed her to build a nest on a main walk through though! On May 28th morning, we discovered the nest and that same afternoon she laid her first tiny egg followed by the second a day later. Today, the second baby hummingbird hatched.

She is so tiny and has beautiful colours on her wings.

 

Flying in for a landing as she returns to her eggs.

Look at the irridiscent green of this little hummingbird's head and wings.

 

Here she is in flight.....so difficult to catch as my camera has a delayed shutter and I frequently miss those great shots.

 

The first little baby hummingbird hatches and it won't be long before the next one arrives.

 

It has been so hot and the pygmy palm is a little lacking in full on shade for the Mama hummingbird.

Note the piece of egg shell caught on the nest. She must have pecked it out so the baby birds would have room in the nest.

 

Can you see that she is actually standing in the nest......probably because of the heat these last two days while the eggs were hatching.

They are so tiny and ever so cute waiting for mama hummingbird to return

 

Feeding time for the little ones!

 

Perched on the side of the nest with one baby visible

A closer view of the two little hummingbird chicks and check out their soft, downy looking bottom of the nest

 

The proud mama hummingbird..........not too much rest for her in the days to come!

Hopefully I’ll be able to do a part 2 as the baby hummingbirds grow. I’m a little worried as the palm frond is already yellowing and has a definite downward droop to it. It’s also really hot and not an awful lot of shade.

Enjoy the photos,

 

 

Marta

 

 

http://www.harbourclubvillas.com

 

 

Hummingbird Update

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Here she is.....nest all finished and ready to lay her eggs.

Here she is.....nest all finished and ready to lay her eggs.

All during this last week, our little hummingbird mama has been soooo busy building her nest. It has grown quite substantially (see my earlier blog as she began building her nest). For the first several days we had consistent rain but that didn’t stop her as she flew in and out with soft bits of tree bark and glued her nest together with spider webs.

Note she has some fluff in her beak to line the nest with some softness.

Note she has some fluff in her beak to line the nest with some softness.

 

Clever little bird, she camouflaged her nest well and built it into a cactus branch

Clever little bird, she camouflaged her nest well and built it into a cactus branch. This is another of Mike's super photos...look at the colours on the tail feathers!!

A closer look at those spectacular colours on her tailfeathers

A closer look at those spectacular colours on her tailfeathers

Two days ago when I took a look inside the nest, the Bahama Woodstar hummingbird had laid a tiny egg. Apparently it will take 16 to 18 days to incubate but I’m thinking she will be laying another egg soon. So far though, there’s only the one. 

One little egg in the nest ..... will she lay another?

One little egg in the nest ..... will she lay another?

She spends lots of time sitting on the egg in her nest. We walk past here so many times during the day so she must be getting used to the traffic.

She spends lots of time sitting on the egg in her nest. We walk past here so many times during the day so she must be getting used to the traffic.

Hummingbirds build an amazing, well constructed nest that is a bit more than an inch or so in diameter and probably two inches high so that the eggs are secure.  It is round, open, and made of soft woolly material similar to cotton, camouflaged on the outside with tiny pieces of bark . We have some wild cotton here at Harbour Club so she has probably found some of that to line her nest with.  They may choose a variety of sites from two feet to twelve feet from the ground. Two rather elongated white eggs are generally laid so we are now waiting for the second egg to appear.

You can see a closer view of the egg in the hummingbird's nest

You can see a closer view of the egg in the hummingbird's nest

 

Nesting hummingbird hidden in the cactus tree close by our walkway to our house at Harbour Club Villas
Nesting hummingbird hidden in the cactus tree close by our walkway to our house at Harbour Club Villas

Much excitement with watching and photographing this little hummingbird! Watch for more as hopefully the babies will hatch in a few weeks. I’m also watching a Gray Kingbird nest which today has four eggs in it. When I first saw it, there were just two but these birds lay up to five eggs….so we’ll see. But this will be for another post.

Happy birding and birdwatching!!
Marta
http://www.harbourclubvillas.com