I’m very excited to be welcomed into the Pet Collective family. For the last five years I have been running a live nest cam and filming hummingbirds. During that time, I have filmed more than 50 hummingbird nests from egg to flight.
This year Flower showed up in my yard and laid eggs about February 1st. She built a nest in our California Lilac about 5 feet above the ground. I expect them to hatch around the 18th or as late as the 24th. It’s always exciting and beautiful to watch. After they hatch, Flower will be feeding her chicks about every 15-20 minutes and they will fly after about 20 to 25 days. I love watching the fledge. It’s wonderful to see a couple of chicks take flight for the first time and discover the world. The chicks usually stay around my yard for a couple of weeks and I get to watch them gain their independence. I usually follow the chicks during that time with my video camera and I have made wonderful discoveries about hummingbird behaviour by watching so closely. I have a huge treasure trove of video to show you.
In the coming months, you will see how a baby hummingbird transforms into that flying jewel that we all love. I’ll show you how they learn to hunt and eat, how they bath themselves and how they define their territory. And I won’t just be watching Flower…
Near my home in Victoria, BC is a place I call Hummingbird Hills where the Anna’s Hummingbirds stay all year. They start nesting in late December and stop around mid-August. During that time, I usually film and follow about 12 nests. Each nest shows me something different and my video and observations have been used to help hummingbird researchers from our local universities. We have made amazing discoveries which have never been documented before, like the multiple nests that each bird has over a season. Many have four nests overlapping in a year! Sometimes mama is taking care of two nests at a time. One will be ready to fly while the other is at the egg stage. I have also learned how to find their nests and how they define their territory.
Right now, I am watching five nests. Flower is in my yard on the live nestcam and in Hummingbird Hills, Rio has chicks in an ocean spray bush about 10 ft off the ground, Gina has her nest 100 feet away and about 50 ft up in an oak tree, Ocean has reclaimed her waterfront territory and is sitting on eggs in a yew tree about 15 ft off the ground and 50 feet away,and Shine has a nest with eggs in an Arbutus tree about 20 ft off the ground. Hercules and Romeo are the sires and they maintain their claim over their territory with constant bickering.
And let’s not forget that this is real life…
Currently, we are experiencing a patch of rough weather on the west coast. We have had freezing weather for the last two weeks which has given way to wind and rain. These are the hard times for the hummingbirds. Sometimes the storms claim victims but more often than not, I am amazed by the tenacity and durability of the hummingbirds and their nests. We recently had 50 mile per hour winds and none of the nests were damaged! When you think that the nests are built by tiny birds with spider webs and fluff on thin branches, it’s truly mind boggling.
Rio’s chicks hatched during sub-zero temperatures in early February! She must have laid her eggs in early January! There are amazing things that go on in Hummingbird Hills. I have even had the privilege of saving the lives of orphaned chicks.
Each year is a wonderful episode of hummingbird life.
Please join me as I go on an unpredictable and marvelous journey through Hummingbird Hills. It will be surprisingly beautiful.