Young Naturalist, 11-year old Nicholas reports on a growing Hummingbird family in his backyard! Check back daily for his updates...
We think this is a rufous hummingbird nest. The eggs were laid a day apart and were there for about 10 days before the first egg hatched. The eggs are the size of Tic Tacs.
Mom has spent a lot of time sitting on the nest. The egg shells were cleaned from the nest right away.
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| Day One |
The second baby hatched last night. There were still small shells in the nest this morning. The first baby’s feathers are a little longer than the new one. Their eyes are completely shut. If the nest moves, the babies lift their heads looking for food. Mom is spending a lot of time flying back and forth to get food to feed them.
Day Three
The babies are a little bigger today. Their feathers are getting longer. They reach up looking for food if the nest moves. The mom is very protective of her babies.
Day Four
The babies seem to sleep a lot when mom is gathering food. She comes back about every 10 to 15 minutes to feed and will sit on them for a few minutes before flying for more food.
Day Five
The babies are still growing very fast. Mom is back to feed every 10 to 15 minutes. She will buzz your head and chirp at you if you are near the nest, so we try to take pictures right after she leaves for more food.
Day Six
The babies are so much bigger now. There isn’t much room left in the nest. Their feathers are getting bigger and are starting to change colour.
Day Seven
The babies move around a lot. Sometimes they are facing the same way and other times they are facing the opposite way. Sometimes they are sitting on each other, but they are almost always looking for food.
Day Eight
The babies’ feathers are starting to show all across their backs. The tops of their beaks are turning black now too, but the inside is still orange.
