Subject: [Tweeters] Anna's Hummingbird nest ALREADY has nestlings!
Date: Mar 16 16:00:13 2015
From: Nathaniel Peters - ncpeters at uw.edu


Hi Tweets,

At the very end of February, I noticed a female Anna's Hummingbird coming
to a nest she had made just outside my apartment door in Ballard. I
observed her sitting on the nest for about two weeks, and then there was no
activity, no sound, and I feared the nest had been abandoned.

Then, three days ago, I noticed a little "thorn" sticking out from the side
of the nest, and then it moved! Baby hummingbird beak! Sure enough, after
watching the nest more intently, I saw the mother return several times to
briefly feed her babies. What a treat!!! I was blown away by both the
early timing of this successful breeding, and by the fact that the babies
NEVER made a sound!

Yesterday, with a little help from a stepladder, and being careful not to
disturb the nest, I managed to get a view into the nest. I could clearly
see two nestlings, and they were already feathered. I think they will be
ready to leave the nest within the next two weeks. Amazing!

If anyone would like to see a picture of the nest and nestlings, send me an
email and I will forward you a copy.

-Nathaniel Peters
Ballard, WA
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman1.u.washington.edu/pipermail/tweeters/attachments/20150316/302f0a91/attachment.htm