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.

Click here to return to home or here for more hummingbird photo posts.