Each spring, we keep an eye out for hummingbird nests at the Desert Botanical Garden. The Garden has created a haven for our local hummingbirds, with its variety of plants, cover, and the availability of water. It is a perfect place for hummingbirds to nest. Here are some nests from spring 2014.

This Anna’s Hummingbird put her nest directly over a busy walking path near the center of the Garden. Many Garden visitors were lucky enough to notice the nest overhead and paused briefly to watch. Here are a series of pictures taken over several weeks.

Note: The photos in this post were taken with a super telephoto lens (500mm).

Here the mother perched on an agave leaf, watching. She was often visible hunting for insects or feeding from flowers. Or she could be seen perching nearby, watching the nest and the general area.

Amidst the tangled twigs of a Palo Verde tree, the mother sat on the edge of the nest with one of the baby hummingbirds visible.

Hummingbirds typically lay two eggs. The two chicks (or babies) often hatch a day or so apart. The first chick may leave the nest a day or more before the second one does. In this photo, the mother feeds her last baby in the nest. It was practicing flapping its wings on this day and looked ready to leave.

Her other chick – now a fledgling – was up in the branches above the nest. The fledglings are not immediately on their own once they leave the nest. A mother Anna’s Hummingbird will come back to feed her fledglings for some period of time. The mother came and fed this fledgling around the same time she fed the chick still in the nest.

The next time I came through, the nest was empty.

We saw a couple of other hummingbird nests at the Desert Botanical Garden that spring. We heard of even more. Hummingbird nests are usually hard to see for many reasons: tiny size, location, foliage.

Here are pictures of two other hummingbird nests at the Desert Botanical Garden, just for fun.

Though not a native tree, hummingbirds make good use of Eucalyptus.

The tangled twigs of the Palo Verde tree make a good, small enclosure for a hummingbird nest.

Special thanks to the Garden staff and volunteers for watching out for the hummingbird families while still allowing us to share in the wonder.

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Out of the nest, still being fed

Here’s a close look at a mother Anna’s Hummingbird feeding her fledgling hummingbird. All week long, we heard “peep, peep” from one, sometimes two, young Anna’s Hummingbirds in the Texas Ebony trees outside our front door. These baby hummingbirds left (“fledged”) their nearby nest at the end of March/early April 2014.

Mother and Fledgling Hummingbird

One of the fledglings in particular stayed in the trees and waited to be fed. It would flit around in the branches a little. It also did a lot of perching and waiting. And calling.

Every so often, we could hear the “chip! chip!” of the mother Anna’s Hummingbird as she announced her approach to her young  hummingbirds. She would often vocalize briefly, then perch beside one of her fledglings, look around, then feed it. She was in and out. 

The hummingbirds are about the size of the curved, dark brown seed pods that are scattered throughout the Texas Ebony tree branches. It was difficult to see the perched birds in the shady canopy and against the bright sky. It was easier to hear them or wait for them to fly about in the branches.

The mother was frequently at the feeder or hummingbird flowers before and after she flew into the branches to feed her young.

Go here to see this hummingbird family while the babies were still in the nest.

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New hummingbird nest

Here’s a new hummingbird nest for the 2014 season.

This Anna’s Hummingbird nest is in a Bottle Tree. This is the second 2014 hummingbird nest in our immediate neighborhood. The first nest was too high to see clearly. The photo above was taken in early March 2014.

Anna’s Hummingbird on her new nest

Here she is on her nest in the evening light. This picture was taken in early/mid March.

Baby Hummingbird beaks

The baby hummingbird beaks started to peek out of the nest. Here they are in evening light in mid March.

Standing guard

The female was often on guard, watching from nearby posts. She had a few look-out spots, but she used this one the most. From the top of this Yellow Bird of Paradise, she could guard both her nest and her feeder in the backyard. Her perch is at about the height of a one story house roofline.

Baby Hummingbirds get crowded

The babies were getting big. This picture was taken in late March.

Out of the nest

Here’s one of the fledgling hummingbirds, in the tree by our front door on its first day out of the nest. It flitted around in the area, peeping to bring its mother in to feed it.

Sometimes when we open the front door now, we can hear high little calls coming from the fledgling hummingbirds in the trees above. The mother returns often to the feeder, then flies up into the tree. She calls “chip! chip!” as she approaches their “peep, peep” sounds. Then it is quiet. After a little while,  the high little calls start again.

Go here to see the mother feeding one of the fledgling hummingbirds in the tree.

Back to home or other nest posts or other hummingbird pictures.

Here’s the easy way to see an active hummingbird nest: in the Hummingbird Aviary at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. At least, it is easy if you are in Arizona or will be coming through in the spring. The Museum could call its hummingbird exhibit “the Hummingbird Nursery” for these few spring months.

This was not the only active nest in the Hummingbird Aviary. There are other nests about, including a Costa’s Hummingbird nest near the entrance with at least one baby in it. With nests here and there in the Aviary, it is not always clear if a nest is active. The nest pictured below has a few droppings on the outside, which suggests that there may be chicks in it, hidden below the nest’s rim.

Anna’s Hummingbird nest

This Anna’s Hummingbird nest still had one chick in the nest last week. I did not see it exercising its wings when I was there – perhaps it was too young, perhaps it was the wrong time of the day. But I was lucky enough to catch one feeding session.

It is an amazing experience to be so close to an active nest in the Hummingbird Aviary. The mothers are alert but basically unafraid. Nests can be within several feet of the paths. Visitors can watch the mothers and the babies openly. It is delightful to see them in action.

This is an unparalleled opportunity to see hummingbird babies and mothers up very close. If you are a hummingbird fan, visit or take a look at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum website or Facebook page.

If you go to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, plan an extra time for the Hummingbird Aviary. It is close to the museum entrance, in the Pollination exhibit area. The Aviary has many benches, the pathways are accessible, and the exhibit is not huge, all things that make for great viewing.  But there may be many other visitors, so be prepared to be patient. And while it may not always be possible to get clear photos (depending on distance to the nest, plants, and your camera), being in the Aviary is a wonderful experience.

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