kosmickawa

[kosmickawa]

2/18/23 Recently I’ve had several very close encounters with a hummingbird in our backyard buzzing near me. At first I thought she was looking for flowers/food and attracted to my brightly-colored clothing. Then, up close, as she was whirring around, I noticed she was carrying nesting material in her beak (tiny fluff of something). I had no clue where she was building the nest. But today, looking out my home office window overlooking back patio, I saw a tiny bird sitting in a tiny nest in the wisteria vines. She built it quite close to my patio sitting spot and near to eye level — perfect for viewing. She seems unfazed by human and dog activity. Maybe we will see some tictac-sized eggs this spring? 🪺 I’ll gladly hose down the ensuing hummingbird poop on the patio to get to watch the nest activity. 🤩

3/05/23 Concern during pouring rain, severe winds, freezing temps, hail, etc whether the tiny nest/babies would survive. But have Hope.

3/08/23 Saw a male, bright-red-chested hummingbird (possibly father?) flitting around the nest, possibly feeding babies. Do male hummingbirds help with child-rearing?

3/10/23 Babies big dark eyes are closed and they don’t have many feathers. Their beaks are short and stubby compared adult hummingbird’s long, slender beaks.

3/13/23 When Hope is out looking for food, the babies stretch/poke their heads out from the nest and open their beaks when they hear me nearby, hoping to be fed. Very eager, but no vocalizations.

3/17/23 One baby is bigger than the other one. Maybe one is a runt, or maybe a male and female.

3/20/23 Babies are growing and now their heads and beaks protrude out from nest.

3/22/23 Hope’s absence from the nest has increased. Maybe she needs more time to forage for food since babies are getting bigger and need more sustenance. Or, also bc they’re getting bigger, maybe there’s no room for Hope anymore in the nest? Does she build a parent nest elsewhere?

3/24/23 Babies are occasionally “licking their lips” after feedings. They flick their tongues out and “taste the air” like a thin floppy antenna. Are they looking for more food? Or just enjoying remnants of a good meal?

3/25/23 Hope is only present for feedings. I think she has her own parent nest in our smaller redwood tree nearby. I filled and hung an old hummingbird feeder, and also bought a new one. Within minutes after hanging, I saw Hope drinking from the new red mosaic feeder. I learned that hummingbirds must feed their babies every 20 min from dawn to dusk in order for them to survive.

3/26/23 Small birds (finch? sparrow?) are plucking out tufts my new flower sprouts in the garden (grrrr!) and trying to build a nest in patio eaves corner directly above my chair. And only about two feet from hummingbird nest. I hope they get along like good neighbors.

3/27/23

Babies’ beaks are getting longer and more slender instead of their previous blunt-nosed beauties. They are almost too big for both babies to fit in the the nest together. They most often sit head-to-tail in nest. They are now occasionally vocalizing, preening, stretching/flapping their wings. Will they attempt flight soon? They look much like smaller versions of their mom instead mini half-feathered dinosaur freaks.

3/28/23 Now that there’s much less rain and the sun is actually shining, there’s much more visible hummingbird poop below the nest in all directions in about a 4-5 foot perimeter. The rainstorms helped wash it away before, but now I have to spray it down with the hose every few days. Not too much bird poop reaches my chair, which is nice. But sitting and sometimes gardening so close to nest, I worry someday I’ll get shat upon.

3/30/23 The babies have fledged! Saw only one baby in nest today. Wondered about the other one. Accidentally startled the baby left in nest by jostling the vines and it flew from the nest to nearby vine branch! Later spotted the other baby nearby on another vine branch. Hope came twice to check on them and feed them. The babies may be more mobile, but still can’t feed themselves. She also visited the empty nest, “fixing” it with her beak and chirping. The baby that flew first seems more confident, and later saw it fly off in same direction as Hope towards the redwoods. The baby that was last to leave nest is more timid, nervously looking around and ruffling feathers. I got one video of baby practicing flying from one vine to another. Worried my observing was making them nervous, I left to go inside. When I checked later, both babies were gone. The fledglings have not returned.

Baby hummingbird names?

Beaky and cheeky

Beaky and gleeky

Beaky and peaky

Blinky and stinky

Pooey and Louie