Something great happened

[Dave007]

I know this won't be important to most of you but something happened today that fascinated me. It never happened before.. I was sitting in my backyard at an umbrella table. About 15 ft. away, I have a hummingbird feeder hanging off the edge of the roof. A green throated hummingbird came over to the feeder and started drinking but she was doing something very weird. As a matter of fact, I thought she was sick. Usually hummingbirds drink and stay at a feeder for about 30 seconds before taking off. This bird was taking in fluid and then turned her beak straight up to the sky while sitting there and started doing some gulping down movements. She did this about 9 times. She spent more time doing that gulping than actually drinking. She stood at the feeder for about 25 to 30 minutes doing this. Drinking and gulping. Finally, she finished and flew to a branch and immediately came back about 10 ft away from the feeder and landed on the top edge of our bedroom windows. All of a sudden she started poking up and down for about 15 minutes into the top of window frame. Finally, she took off. I couldn't understand what I saw so I got a ladder and clmbed up and looked in the inner edge of the window frame. Guess what---a hummingbird nest with 2 chicks in it. What she was doing was feeding them when she went over there. I never even saw her come around and build that nest. Instead of the nest being round, it's rectangular and fits in the window frame.

 

[judygram]

What a thrill that must have been to see that nest, I know there has to be at least one nest somewhere near the house here where I live but have never seen it, how lucky for you to have one so close. Thanks Dave for sharing that with us.

[lovemyGreys]

A lovely story Dave, you will have to keep a watchful eye out now, i imagine from the intrest shown they must be lovely birds

[judygram]

They are Tracy and small birds at that, their wings beat so rapidly which is why they can hover in one spot and why they are called hummingbirds, that rapid beating of the wings creates a humming sound, I can watch them for hours.:cheer:

[bettyboop]

They are awesome birds and Dave that is awesome , she led you right to her nest , Get the camera ready , she will be back .Thanks for sharing .

Mary

[Nychsa]

That is a wonderful observance!! When I first joined the bird club here in Tallahassee, they had an FSU biologist give a presentation on hummingbirds that they were tagging. They've been able to determine that they travel annually from Alaska to Florida and from South America to Florida!!! Is that an amazing trek or what!!

[BMustee]

That is so cool. I can't remember the last time I saw a humming bird...they are one of my favs of the "backyard" birds.

[spookyhurst]

How neat! Hummingbirds are very cool, and curious too. They will often buzz down and look at me or my dog right in the face. Each evening, I see a hummingbird in our backyard, but I don't know where he/she nests.

 

To see the progression of a pair of babies, go to:

 

http://community-2.webtv.net/Velpics/HUM/

 

Be sure to click on "next page" at the bottom to see them go all the way from eggs to leaving the nest.

 

Also, a couple of hummingbird facts:

 

- They beat there wings 80 times a second

- There hearts beat 500 times a minute

- During migration to Canada, they fly nonstop across the Gulf of Mexico for 20 hours and 500 miles.

[spookyhurst]

I want to steal Dave's thunder and post a pic of freshly hatched quail babies. It only takes about 30 minutes for them to go from hatching to running along behind their parents. A couple years ago, we had one daddy (don't know what happened to mommy ) with 14 babies, and he saw them all to adulthood (poor guy looked a little haggard at that point).

 

<br><br>Post edited by: spookyhurst, at: 2008/06/08 08:18

[Guest]

CUTE!!!

 

It must have been lovely to see this RealLife. I am following the following (huh?) and check in everyday to see how they are doing and growing up:

 

http://www.tippinst.ie/swallowsnest.html

[Talon]

WOW Dave! What an experience for you. You are a lucky man to have witnessed that. I have seen many hummingbirds, but never a nest. :cheer:

[Laurie]

That is so cool!

Love your pictures with the "tele-strator" too!

[Lovelylew]

Oh, that's so cool. I love hummingbirds. I have a feeder outside of my office window, and in the wee hours of the early morning, a male will perch and sit there for the longest time, chasing off any of the others that come for feeding - lol - especially in the rainy weather (light rain, of course). I'd LOVE a hummingbird nest to be so close. I bought these supposed hummingbird branches that someone made to draw the hummers to build a nest in them, but it never worked.

 

Absolutely, awesome picture of the quail.

 

I love nature!{Nature-0002009E}

[danmcq]

Very cool Dave. :-) I once wtached a Humming bird build a nest, lay and raise it's young in a bush outside our office door. Building a nest up in your window frame is a real treat for you. You can watch them progress day by day.

 

Spookyhurst - Very beautiful photos of the Qails. :-)

[Tycos_mom]

That tooooo coool I love humming bird when I was a kid we use to have so many of them all around my moms flower garden I fell in love with them then

[PipJulLor]

Dave, that is sweet. We have a bush in the back yard that the hummingbirds make a nest in each year. We have a feeder on the corner of our porch about 15 feet from the bush. I have never seen a parent do what you describe but I have seen the parents take turn taking the newly flighted babies out to the feeder. While the babies are in the nest the male hummingbird sits where he can see the feeder and anytime another hummer comes around he buzzes over and chases them away!!:woohoo:

 

Right after Hurricane Rita, which we where on the edge off, It seemed that a majority of hummingbirds relocated to our area. We would have 15 to 20 hummingbirds swarming around the back yard waiting there turn to get to our feeder. We must of been the first people in the area to get the feeder back up after the storm. It was truly an amazing sight!!

 

Richard

[Dave007]

Unfortunately, I don't think I'll ever see them again in that area. I believe it was an accident. Maybe they were young or inexperienced and didn't know what they were doing. Sure enough, eventually, the heavy rains came and washed the nest away this past late autumn. Maybe they came because the feeders were nearby. Usually, they're aggressive with eachother and chase each other away from feeders. Never will know. I do know that the babies lived and one day they were gone along with the parents into the woods.

 

Look In OTHER BIRDS section<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/11/26 18:26