Recently
a hummingbird decided to take up residence in my patio garden. She selected a hanging
plant and started building a nest on a branch of the plant just six feet off the ground.
Day after day the humming bird – which I named "Mom" – would make
several trips with building materials for her new nest. Once finished, Mom would sit in
the nest for hours at a time, only leaving for short periods to locate food. Soon all of
the neighbors were watching Mom to follow the developments.
After a couple of weeks, two eggs could be seen in the bottom of the nest when Mom was
gone. By holding a mirror over the nest you could watch things develop. Then one day the
eggs hatched, revealing two tiny chicks resembling slugs. |
Baby Hummingbirds In Their Nest
Over the next few weeks the chicks
grew at an enormous rate, and soon their heads could be seen peeking out of the top of the
nest.By now Mom would be seen only a couple of times a day, when she would come to feed
her chicks. If anyone were near the nest when she approached, Mom would make a snapping
noise with her wings and take on an aggressive stance until the person was out of the
area. Then one afternoon I was watching the ever-growing chicks with my binoculars, and I
saw them trying out their wings. |
With their
little feet clasped firmly on the nest, the chicks were flapping their wings and getting
lift. I knew that Mom would soon be pushing them out of the nest and on their own. The
next morning I saw the chicks sitting in their nest as I went out for coffee. When I
returned I saw Mom arriving with breakfast for her chicks. As I watched, Mom went to her
nest only to find it empty. Her chicks had left home. Mom lighted on the nest and looked
around for a moment. She then hung her head for a minute and gave what appeared to be a
sigh. Her babies had left home without so much as a goodbye. Mom then flew away and never
returned. |
