The next day, she came back. Curious as to why this tiny creature would find my patio worthy of a second glance, I investigated. To my amazement, I discovered that she has determined this wire...
...to be an appropriate place to build her nest!
I'm fascinated, but also a little concerned, as the nest is so high off the ground and dangling over concrete. If she lays her eggs and one of the little birds falls out, I'm afraid it won't fare well.
In the meantime, it's been a great learning experience for all of us. I did some research and learned that a female hummingbird will use materials like moss, cotton fluffs, soft plant pieces, dryer lint, and leaf hairs to make her nest nice and soft. She brings these items back to her nest a little at a time, and uses spider webs to glue it all together.
Doesn't it look soft and cozy? It's tedious work, and she'll labor on it about 4 hours a day for 5-7 days before the little nest is complete. Apparently, she'll make about 34 trips for materials per hour!* I can believe it, as our little hummingbird flits to and from her nest at an amazing rate. The boys and I have enjoyed watching her arrive at her nest with a little bit of something in her beak, tuck it into just the right spot, and then jet off to find something else to add to it.
It's only been a few days since she started working on the nest, so I assume it's still under construction. It's been fun to see it take shape. We have a great view!
Here's our little bird working away on her home. The boys have named her "Honey Hummingbird."
Hopefully, we'll have some pictures of eggs to post soon!
*The website where I found my information: http://www.worldofhummingbirds.com/nest.php. Check it out if you'd like to know more about the amazing process of hummingbird nest building! :-)
2 comments:
So sweet!!!
That's amazing! What a cute little nest.
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