Anna’s Hummingbird Babies: From Eggs to Empty Nest
Photo © 2015 Richard P. Weber
As I wrote last month, we were extremely fortunate to have had a little Anna’s hummingbird build her espresso cup-sized nest in our front yard, just steps from a window. In February, binoculars and camera in hand, we watched and photographed as she finished her intricately woven and structurally sound nest. On February 20 it appeared that the nest was complete and she began incubating her eggs.
About 18 days later, on March 8, I saw her perched on the edge of her nest, apparently regurgitating nectar from nearby native flowers into her babies. I couldn’t actually see them at that point since the nest was about eight feet off the ground and they were so small. At this early stage she would feed both nestlings (hummingbirds almost always have two), leave, and come back with more food within 60 seconds. Sometimes she’d return and stay on the nest awhile, since they were nearly naked and in need of warmth. Anna’s hummingbirds reportedly feed their young nectar in the mornings to warm them up, and tiny insects and spiders (high in protein) in the afternoons.
Later that week we saw them, with their bulging eyes and just the start of future feathers.
Later, about ten days after they had hatched and when their barbs began to look like feathers, she no longer stayed on the nest—during the day, anyway—most likely because they were rapidly filling up the tiny nest and she was not too keen on having her underside poked by pointy bills!
We continued to watch her feed them, aiming her long bill into their gaping orange mouths and then straight down their throats. She resembled a sewing machine needle as she repetitively pushed food into them, never spilling a drop. Ouch!
References state that Anna’s hummingbirds fledge within 18 to 23 days after hatching. On the morning of what I believe was Day 23 I watched as one of them sat on the edge of the nest and flapped his/her wings with such gusto that I thought the time had come. A rainstorm came and went, but they remained in the nest, sitting with their bills pointed directly upwards, nearly vertical; occasionally they’d shake off raindrops but maintained their pose. Undaunted, they also endured fairly heavy wind and a short but pounding hail storm.
On Day 24 I saw one of them, for the first time, venture out of the nest and onto the branch right next to the nest. Surely they are leaving now, I thought!
They left the nest on Day 25. I could be wrong about the day they hatched, or perhaps they loved Mom’s meals and enjoyed watching the world go by from their safe little nest so much that they stayed an extra day. Or the experts are wrong. When they left I was, disappointingly, in the shower at the time. Just before they left I noticed them preening their breast feathers meticulously, perhaps to make themselves more aerodynamic—notice the fluffy white down feathers in this photo, the last I took of them.
Experts say that Mom feeds them for several days post fledging, so they are on their own by now. I still look for them in the garden and high in the trees, but it’s hard to say who’s who—they may almost resemble adults by now. Reportedly, the siblings often stay together until autumn, when they separate for good (they are not social birds). Have a good life, sweet babies!
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