Hummingbird update

I had a lovely vacation in Tennessee with my cousin Patty. We tracked down the home place and although disappointed that the house was gone, we did find the foundation. Tennessee is an incredibly beautiful state and coming from the browns in California, the greens of Tennessee were refreshing. Still, in the back of my mind was my hummingbird family.

We had two eggs and I expected them to hatch when I was away from home. 

 

It was with total delight that the afternoon before I left, our little eggs hatched. Although the picture could be clearer, Mom was too close to get a better picture. We try not to upset her. The two fuzzy caterpillar shapes are our babies.

These pictures were taken yesterday. They are a definite "Feed Me!"

Every day they get bigger and I know it won't be long before they leave. We are enjoying every minute.

Hummingbird Eggs

Darn! I am leaving tomorrow for an 8-day family history adventure in the hills of Tennessee. Not darn that I am leaving but the gestation period for hummingbird eggs is 14 to 23 days and I am probably going to miss the eggs hatching. Fortunately, my husband will be home so he can monitor our new babies.

I did the research and the eggs are now almost two weeks old. I also read that hummingbird dad's don't nest but our hummingbird dad does. While he doesn't spend a lot of time there, he will cover for the hummingbird mom. 

In the meantime, our cactus has bloomed again. I have pictures of my grandson next to the cactus when it and he were small. I take pictures of it every time it blooms. So, here is yesterday's picture. The blooms only last one day. 

 It's time to pack for the trip. Just checked the eggs. Still haven't hatched. Dad was sitting on the nest while mom chased away another bird. It's a baby and just hatched from another nest on the porch. It sound like wild kingdom outside!

Hummingbirds

 We have lots of birds in our area. We have the noisy black birds, the crows and the little birds with the red chest. I don't know what they are but they have nests in our trees and awnings.

Then, we have the hummingbirds. When we moved here years ago, I looked them up. The pair that we currently have nesting are Anna's hummingbirds. Our porch is covered in honeysyvle so it is a constant food source. This year they have taken up housekeepoing on the front porch post.

I am not quite sure how I missed the beginning of the nest building but one day I noticed the momma hummingbird bringing little bits of fluff and tucking it into the nest. I was shocked. The nest is out in the open. Earlier this month the mom and dad spent time coming up to the dog and I on the porch and checking us out. Our dog is oblivious to birds so they were satisfied they were safe.

I posted the picture below on Facebook yesterday. I am surprised at the interest. I guess it's not everyday that a hummingbird sits for a picture but they don't move unless we get too close. So here is the daddy sitting on the eggs. It is going to be another scorcher today, topping 100 degrees Fahrenheit but mom and dad will be there taking turns. It is shady in the afternoon so at least they aren't in direct sunlight. They are such a treat to watch.

 I am waiting for an opportunity to check out what is in the nest. Although it is only 6 feet away, we have stopped using the front porch steps because we don't want to scare them. They let us know they are not far away so I am biding my time for a closeup.