Hummingbird video

Video Clip of Anna’s Hummingbird on Nest

Anna’s Hummingbird on Nest

This female Anna’s Hummingbird is incubating two eggs … and in this video it looks like she is trying to get comfortable but it is likely she is keeping the space around the eggs and perhaps turning them. She does this behavior just about every time she lands on the nest. The noise you hear in the background is traffic. The nest is about 40 feet from the edge of a busy street.

She spends the majority of the day on the nest. She is away more often in the early morning and evening when there are many small flying insects about. Earlier in the nesting cycle, she seemed to spend more time away from the eggs.

The eggs were laid between March 16th and March 18th, 2013. Anna’s eggs are incubated between 14 and 19 days*. It is getting close to the time for the first egg to hatch.

This video was taken on March 28, 2013 from near the live nest cam set up.

Thank you for watching!

*Source: The Birders Handbook by Ehrlich, Dobkin, and Wheye, 1988

Hummingbirds at feeder

Hummingbirds at feeder on a busy city street. We get a close view as one hummingbird after another nervously approaches this hummingbird feeder.

The feeder is hanging from the eaves of the house, about 40 feet from the side of a busy street in Arizona. City traffic, a train horn, barking dogs, and general noise are audible in the video. This background noise is typical, but it is possible to hear the chirps of the hummingbirds at the feeder. The other bird calls you hear in this video are Verdin, a small chickadee-like desert bird.

The local hummingbirds are primarily Anna’s Hummingbirds, though Black-chinned Hummingbirds and Costa’s Hummingbirds are also in the area. The hummingbirds often perch in the trees and bushes near the street. These hummingbirds are tolerant of nearby and frequent foot traffic, bicycles in the bike lane, pet noises, buses, cars, and air traffic from a nearby major airport. Despite the constant noise in the general area, the hummingbirds will sometimes react visibly to loud sounds, such as trucks, motorcycles, or airplanes. You can see that type of reaction in this video when the train horn sounds.

The last two hummingbirds are immature Anna’s Hummingbirds. You can see that the last one has some of his red iridescent gorget feathers. The start of red on the last male’s crown is visible when he tilts his head.

Funny Hummingbird does a taste test

Funny hummingbird does a taste test – which port is best on this newly placed hummingbird feeder?

Here is an amusing look at a young hummingbird’s behavior. It is hard to tell if this hummingbird is just testing each feeder hole to see if there is any difference from one to the next. Or is it nervous and trying to feed while still positioned for a quick exit? Or both?

The hummingbird looks like an immature Rufous Hummingbird. The Rufous Hummingbird migrates through eastern Arizona, including areas around Alpine. Mature Rufous Hummingbirds are aggressive in protecting territory, but there were no mature Rufous Hummingbirds observed on this morning at this newly set up feeder.

This video was recorded near Alpine, Arizona in late July 2012.

Broad-billed Hummingbird takes flight

Broad-billed Hummingbird launches into flight in this very brief close up video.

This male hummingbird shows his brilliant blue and green feathers and a bright red bill as he takes off from his perch in the brush of southern Arizona. This video was taken near Sierra Vista in southeastern Arizona in 2012.