We've gotten a lot of pleasure over Winter and into Spring from our Anna's
Hummingbirds. After surviving the cold and completing the mating process,
they built a nest, which we found in mid-March. I was working in the yard
and looking up at the whir of wings, saw a bird enter a dense cedar branch.
Even though I saw where she went, it took some time to find the well
crafted little nest, about as big in diameter as a duck egg, camouflaged
with lichen. Fortunately for us, the nest is visible from a shop window,
so we can observe without disturbing the birds. For a long time, the
female just sat on the nest, and about a week ago we verified that she was
feeding a single nestling. She still spent a lot of time just sitting,
perhaps to keep the tiny nestling warm. At this point the baby's head is
visible sticking out of the nest, and she spends most of her time foraging
and feeding him.

There has been no sign of participation from the male -- in fact, we havent
seen him for some time. This is a little surprising, since we fequently
see the males sitting in prominent perches in Lincoln Park and Discovery
Park.

It's a tough job pulling these guys through the reproduction cycle.