Various Birds and a Quail Tale – 27 Jan 13

     A REMINDER:  You’ve only to click on any photo if you wish to enlarge it. 

     RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS.   I think the first three photos taken within seconds of each other contain some kind of neat and fun optical illusions.  In the first, we see a female approaching the feeder where a male (and a wasp underneath) are already there.  But WAIT — there’s something odd about her — it looks like she has a mini third wing!

     Now seconds later, the male has left; the wasp is still there; and she still has her mini third wing.  With a bit of imagination, you can also see what looks like a vapor trail at an angle behind her.

     Now, the mini third wing is gone; the wasp is still there as is the imaginary vapor trail.

     PIGEONS.  I’m not terribly fond of pigeons due to their flocking behavior; however, I do find it interesting that unlike most bird species, they come in a wide variety of markings and colors.  Here’s just a few examples of some I’ve seen in our yard.

      MORE HUMMINGBIRD SHOTS – BOTH RUFOUS AND BLACK-CHINNED.  Notice the small ruby spot this first female Rufous has on her throat.

     The male Rufous is very pretty especially in the right light.

     For several mornings in a row, I observed some STRANGE BEHAVIOR in a female Rufous hummingbird.  She would sit for a few seconds on a bare tree branch, then fly out in a circular pattern and come back to once again sit on the branch (not always in the same place) only to repeat the maneuver over and over again.  Of course, I took some photos of her, but found this particular one to be quite fascinating.  In that light, she looks so dark almost like she has a mask on, but its the position of her head that caught my eye.  I don’t remember ever seeing one turn its head around that far, but maybe you have.

     As you know, the Black-Chinned Hummers nest here and usually show up in late March or early April; however, the Rufous Hummers are only migrating so come later and are not here as long.  This male which I saw on July 26 was THE FIRST RUFOUS SPOTTED IN 2012.

     Next we have VARIOUS BIRDS SEEN ON 04 AUG 12 at daughter Joan and son-in-law Ed’s home North of town.  The first one is a Black-Throated Sparrow – a bird I have never seen at our feeders.  In case you are wondering, those are grape leaves you see to the right of the feeder.

     Next are some shots of a bird I have seen only a couple times in our backyard — The Pyrrhuloxia (Cardinalis Sinuatus) or as we sometimes simply call it “The P Bird” (that’s easier to pronounce.  LOL).  It is a cousin of the Northern Cardinal we saw and loved so much when we lived in Ohio.  This “P Bird” is a male as the female has little to no red coloring on them.  The quail silhouette  in the background is a lawn ornament, but adds a kind of neat touch to the photo.

     This next photo of a Western Kingbird also taken the same day and same place is not the best in composition and not so good to have the branch in front of his face.  I like it anyway.  It’s a pretty bird, but I guess it’s also because of the blurred background of a cloudy blue sky and the foothills in silhouette.

     I usually have to get my bird shots at a distance and through glass besides being a bit “sneaky”.  I decided to try a new tactic for the hummers – up close to the feeder, but MAKING LIKE A STATUE.  About the time I thought it wasn’t going to work and my arms would fall off from holding the camera up so long, it paid off!!  Here came this lovely little female Black-Chinned Hummingbird.  The pollen on her bill tells us that she was visiting some flowers before she came to the feeder.

     Using this same tactic, I caught a female Rufous Hummer.  We also know where she’s been before coming to the feeder — notice the leftover bit of some small insect on her bill.

     A QUAIL TALE.  When I at first looked out one day in March 2012, I thought there were no birds in the yard.  Then something caught my eye — a male Gambel’s Quail standing absolutely stock-still with his head turned to one side.  Now, this was very strange as quail are rarely still nor do you usually see just one since they mate for life and also form coveys part of the year.  I continued to watch him for several minutes.     Most of the time, he was looking to the side, but once in a while he would look toward me for a while.     And then back to the side again.     This went on for a number of minutes and then the female showed up.   Now, I thought that was sweet of him being so vigilant and concerned about her whereabouts and safety perhaps.  As soon as she came into the yard, he broke out of his stance and began feeding.

The female enters the yard.

The male goes back to feeding.

     I wanted to take some photos of them together, but she had gone behind the tree so thought I would wait until she came into view again.  WELL, TURNS OUT I WASN’T THE ONLY ONE WAITING FOR HER TO COME INTO VIEW.   When she did, he took off like a flash and mounted her.

He was on her in a flash!

    It was over very quickly and she went on about her foraging as if nothing happened.

He flew up to the top of the wall to strut back and forth some — no worse for wear except a few ruffled feathers.  He seemed quite proud of himself.

      Shortly they both left the yard and headed up the alley.  Sadly, I never saw any results from this mating — too many loose pets in the neighborhood or perhaps hawks or who knows??  Hopefully, they just simply moved on to a different location.

     THE AMERICAN KESTREL is a small falcon — sometimes called a Sparrow Hawk.  In fact, it is the smallest of our falcons.  They can be seen at times hovering over prey before plunging in for the kill.  They feed on insects, small reptiles and mammals, and sometimes birds.  I had only seen any of them here at the house once before.  That sighting was kind of neat as I had gone out onto the porch for something and sort of felt eyes on me.  I looked over toward the garage only to see a Kestrel peering over the edge of the garage roof at me.  Of course, there was no chance to run for the camera as it quickly flew away.    

     Imagine my surprise to look out back on New Years Day 2013 only to see an American Kestrel devouring a bird.  It didn’t stay long after that as it was almost finished with its meal.  There was little left of the bird, but think his dinner might have been an inca dove.  What a beauty he is — even if he did have a bit of telltale blood on his bill.

Well, there you have this entry.  I have two or three more from 2012 I need to post to get caught up.   ENJOY!!  🙂

A Therapy Camel and Some Other Stuff. January 19, 2013

It’s been a while since I posted a this and that kind of entry and find that I have a number of photos I wanted to share with you.  Most of these are from 2012, but there are some in this post that are from 2011 – namely part of the Therapy Camel portion.  I’m starting off with a few 4th. of July fireworks.

Kind of a neat capture on this fireworks.

One day I saw this very small young ornate box turtle in the flower bed.  It was all muddy.  Then a few days later after a rain, I spotted it again not far from where I saw it the first time only this time it was clean.  That’s the only two times I saw it.

Baby Ornate Box Turtle.

Later we had a male adult Ornate Box Turtle visit our backyard several times.  In fact I saw him enough times that I gave him a name — Sam.  I know it’s a male because of his red eyes and red on his legs.  But like most of our other turtle visitors we’ve had, he suddenly stopped coming.  Not sure why.  For comparison, the last photo shows him alongside a very old Box Turtle shell my brother found in the woods in Ohio and gave to me.  They certainly look very similar.

Sam, the Ornate Box Turtle visitor to our backyard.

Sam compared to Ohio Box Turtle shell.

When mountain foothills disappear.  It always feels a little strange when we can’t see the foothills — you know they’re there somewhere – just can’t see ’em.  This happens at times for different reasons such as darkness (of course. LOL), low hanging clouds, dust, snow, hard rain, etc.  Here are a couple examples.

Looking out the patio door toward Table Top Mesa on a clear day.

 

Now looking at it in a dust storm.

Now in a snow storm on Jan. 4, 2013.

Here’s a couple photos of an unusual fly we had on the screen.  I thought it had pretty markings and unlike any I had ever observed before.  It was also larger than the usual house flies we see.   Only saw it once.

I don’t normally call flies pretty, but this one is.

And now we come to the therapy camel named Matilda.  The first time I saw her was when she, the dog named Bandit, and owner George Stone visited a local nursing home.  The patients and staff alike really enjoyed her visit.  I went up to pet her, but she surprised me when she tried to nibble on my fingers.  George said he got her when he lived in California when she was only one day old.  Her mother was originally from Australia.  George and his wife Sherel whom I’ve never met use Matilda for therapy for troubled children and others.  These first photos were taken in August 2011.  It was an overcast day.  If you do a search on the internet, you will find several pictures of George and Matilda and even a YouTube video of George riding her across the dunes.

George brings Matilda and Bandit to Betty Dare Nursing Home. August 2011.

Now we fast forward to December 2012.  Son Chris and I had gone out to White Sands National Monument and were surprised to find George Stone, Matilda, and Bandit out there.  George told us that they were often there on Sunday afternoons.  What a super nice guy!

George Stone, Matilda, and Bandit at White Sands Nat’l Monument. December 2012.

And now the reason we went out there.  Chris wanted to take some pictures of a mini Christmas tree so I took a picture of him taking a picture of it.

Chris taking a picture of a mini Xmas tree at WSNM. Dec. 2012

Last but not least, is a study of what a difference lighting can make.  Both photos of a single yellow rose were taken on the same day (November 14, 2012) and are of the very same rose — just different lighting situations.  I think you will agree that the second one is much more dramatic than the first one.

Single yellow rose taken in early afternoon Nov. 14, 2012.

Same rose, same day, but late in the day lit by the setting sun.

Well, there you have it.  I have more photos that I hope to post later.  Enjoy!!

Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge – 16 Nov 12 – Part III

Warnings:   At several places, we saw these warning signs for mountain lions.  We didn’t see any, but on our hike back to the next blind we did see what we were pretty sure was their scat on the trail.  Also on the trail, we saw elk scat and some we thought could be bobcat, but could have also been a dog.  I didn’t see any dogs, but there was nothing that said you couldn’t have one.  Not a good idea.  The trail was of somewhat loose material so tracks were not distinctive, but could make out plenty of wild turkey tracks.

Be on the lookout for mountain lions.

By this time, it was getting to be late afternoon and starting to get dark especially with it being a mostly cloudy day.  It was the longest hike we did and to be honest, I got turned around and think I might have gotten lost if it hadn’t been for Chris being with me.  Thank you, Chris!

Getting late when we got to this blind.

Just when we thought there really wasn’t much to see here, all of a sudden the sky came alive with the honking and flight of a multitude of geese.  And they kept coming and kept coming.  We did see and hear a few cranes later, but not in great numbers like the geese.  It was fascinating to see them reflected in the water, but try as I did I could not seem to capture it for the photos.

I thought these clouds looked like fingers.

The geese were still coming when we left the blind for the hike back to the vehicle.  We sure wondered where they were headed so was surprised to find out almost immediately after we left the parking area.  They were heading for this marsh for the night.

OMG, I wonder how many are there?

We were able to hike back a short distance to still another blind.  Chris snapped my picture and when I saw the results I had to laugh — now I knew I was relaxed and having a great time, but talk about “hanging loose” – that was me in this shot!    😉

Havin’ Fun and Hangin’ Loose!!

This blind must have been used quite a bit for groups since it had table and chairs, etc.  Notice the many square doors at different levels that covered peepholes.  There were hardly any ducks on the pond.  A train did come through while we were there.  That was a surprise as we didn’t know there were any tracks on the other side of the pond.

Train passing near Observation Blind.

Through a peephole.

There was a sign that said “Don’t go beyond this point” so you know what I had to do.  I wanted to see what it looked like on the other side. 

Serious Chris.

Not serious Chris!

It was getting dark, but we drove around some more.  We saw some killdeer and a number of sandhill cranes settling down for the night.

Kildeer.

We saw four mule deer out for an evening feed.  A little later Chris saw a skunk wandering around looking for a snack.  I didn’t get a picture of it, but think he did.

Sadly, it was getting to be time to wrap things up.  I’m glad we didn’t do that too quickly as we were in for a gorgeous sunset!

What a wonderful day!  There was a tiny gas station in San Antonio, but opted to go the 8 miles up to Socorro to gas up before heading the 130 miles to get home.  We didn’t want to chance running out of gas in the middle of nowhere as it was 55 miles to the next gas station going east toward home.  I got home about 9:00 p.m. (16 1/2 hours after leaving) tired, but happy.  I was surprised to note that we had driven almost 350 miles total that day.    You can view some of Chris’s photos also if you wish at: http://chibnerphoto75.smugmug.com        (Sorry. You may have to cut and paste).

Enjoy!!  😉

Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge – 16 Nov 12 – Part II

Predators:  As you could imagine with all those thousands of birds, the Bosque del Apache is a prime spot for predators.  Some we heard about were bald and golden eagles, hawks, mountain lions, coyotes, bobcats, and I think even the occasional black bear.   Of these, we actually only saw hawks and this coyote.

This well fed looking coyote wandered across the road in front of us and over into a field with several cranes.

The cranes kept an eye on him, but didn’t seem overly anxious about his presence.

He was sniffing around here and there basically ignoring the cranes.

 

I guess he wasn’t hungry as he wandered off into the corn field.

Driving around we saw this Great Blue Heron. We saw it or another again later in about the same spot.

We came across a roadrunner also.  It was on the move and I was on the other side of the vehicle so Chris has given me permission to show you his shot instead.

Roadrunner Photo by Chris Hibner.

We were approaching a lake area we had passed before.   Before there had been little activity, but now cars were lined up all the way down the parking area.   We knew something was going on and sure enough many light geese had landed there.  Being the time of the annual Festival of Cranes, we saw many people including bus loads of school children, but everyone was mostly pretty spread out.  We tried twice to go to the Visitor’s Center where they had some large tents set up, but the first time there wasn’t anywhere to park and the second time, they had already closed for the day.   I don’t know my geese very well, but know that the snow geese are the ones with the white heads and black on the tips of their wings.  I also heard them mention Ross’s geese.  Of course, we saw Canadian geese earlier also.

We decided to go the 8 miles into San Antonio for lunch at the historic Owl Cafe and Grill.  The long wooden bar was once in an establishment here or in neighboring Socorro that was owned by Conrad Hilton of Hilton Hotel fame.   It is said to have some bullet holes in it from the Wild West days.  Conrad Hilton was born here.  It is a tiny town next to the Rio Grande that if you blinked, you would miss it.  Both restaurants there are known for their chile cheeseburgers which is what I had; however, the food nor the service were anything to brag about that day anyway.  I didn’t take any photos that day.  This one is from a few years ago when we ate lunch there.

We ate at the historic “The Owl Bar & Cafe” in San Antonio.  This is at the end of the building by the parking lot.

On the way back, we stopped off at this pond.  It was our second time there.  As you can see this photographer has a super-sized lens and tripod which is pretty much how they all were — except me – with my point and shoot.  I didn’t let them intimidate me though as I just kept clicking away doing the best I could with what I had.  😉

It seemed like the ducks usually had their butts up in the air.

As we were driving around, we saw a ranger in a truck holding an antenna out the window so stopped to ask him what he was tracking.  He answered it was elk.  He said they had collars on something like 24 elk.  He said he was currently picking up signals for seven of them which were back in the wooded area lying low until later in the day when they would come out to feed.  Enjoy!

Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge – 16 Nov 12 – Part I

     When our son, Chris, asked me to accompany him on a day trip to the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge near San Antonio, NM, he didn’t have to twist my arm.  I had been there only a couple times before, but never at the right time of the year which would be roughly from November into February.  Not only was this during that recommended time, but it just happened to be during their annual “Festival of the Cranes”. Unfortunately, it was a cloudy day with occasional sunbreaks

     Bosque del Apache means Woods of the Apache as they once camped in these wooded areas along the Rio Grande which runs through the refuge.   It is 57,331 acres with the Chupadera Mountains on the West side and the San Pascual Mountains on the East.  The elevation varies from 4,500 – 6,195 feet.  It is on the Northern edge of the Chihuahuan Desert which is the same desert we live in.   So I was up bright and early to leave the house by 4:30 a.m.   It was something like a 130 miles drive to get there.  It was fairly early when we arrived but still the sandhill cranes were on the move.  I’m pretty sure this was the first time I ever saw this magnificent bird, but before the day was done, I saw a multitude along with many other birds.  I read a count for the day someone did which said there were 11,000 sandhill cranes and 46,000 light geese, and 36,000 ducks among many other kinds of birds.

Sandhill Cranes Early Morning Flight

Near one of the several cornfields.

We saw lots of ducks — usually with their butts in the air.  They sometimes even dived clear under the water.

Not many birds at this stop, but a lovely scene.

You can hardly see them, but there are a number of sandhill cranes on the other side of those reeds below.  When looking at this and the scene above, I had to think how beautiful this must have been when the the cottonwoods were still dressed in their golden fall colors.

Cranes camouflaged by riverside reeds.

Next we came to what looked at first like an open area with tall grasses, but it seemed odd that there were so many water birds such as Canadian geese and ducks there.  On closer inspection, it became clear it was actually a marsh.  And boy, was it noisy with all the vocalizations of the cranes, ducks, crows and ravens.  It’s hard to tell the crows and ravens apart especially at this distance, but the information said they were both here at the refuge.  I could be wrong, but I think I have only seen ravens down our way.   I did a short video on YouTube of their sound:  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OIvXDjO-Us&feature=g-crec-u

Marshy area.

I knew Red Winged Blackbirds that were so common in Ohio were here, but think this was my first time to actually see any so that was a treat.

A car stopped on the road behind us which got the guy’s attention we were talking to.  All of a sudden he says, “OMG, look” and took off running up the incline toward the road with Chris and I in hot pursuit.  Wow, there were javelinas breaking out of a wooded area, crossing a dirt road, and then back into the other wooded area.  We counted eight of them.

After that excitement, we had another treat when we looked toward the mountains only to see many what they called light geese (I think that means snow and Ross’s geese and perhaps some other kinds).

Many geese on the move.

Many geese are airborn in the background.

Several kinds of water birds in the marsh.

As we drove on around the miles long wildlife loop, we saw these cranes near one of the several corn fields there which provide food for the wintering birds.  

We came to a fascinating area where we wound up staying for over an hour even setting up chairs to sit and watch and listen.  Sandhill cranes were on both sides of the road and there was a lot of movement back and forth.  We were also in for a surprise.  The photos were all taken on the right side of the road since these were closer to the road.  There were groups of cranes on both sides of a line of trees.  My best guess is that this was winter wheat growing on the one side of the line of trees.  There was corn on the other side.

What looked like winter wheat on one side of the line of trees.

  Now comes the mystery.  There is some sort of creature or bird on the extreme right side of the picture.

There is something dark on the far right of this picture. What is it??

Taking a closer look, we still don’t know.  It is a crane, but so totally different from the others.  We talked to a man later who thought – sight unseen – it might have been a Russian crane (I don’t think so myself).  Then I thought of the melonistic dove (opposite of albino) that we had a couple years ago.  I have tried getting an answer via e-mail twice, but no response.  Then I checked the FaceBook page and found it was being discussed with no one seeming to know for sure.  I did notice that it doesn’t look very healthy and is smaller than the others.   See what you think.

Comparing “mystery crane” with others.

                                                                                    

Butt to butt. Juvenile on the right. Notice it does not have the red face patch.

There was a lot of movement and vocalizing as the cranes flew back and forth.

We were sure enjoying our day at the Bosque, but there’s lots more to go.  I hope to do this in three parts — this probably being the longest one.  Enjoy!! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Small Bird Diaries – 2nd. Nest Part 3– July 2011 Wrap-up dated 3 Dec 12

Even though it’s been more than a year, I would still like to wrap it up.  I would like to report that in spite of the one very active chick and the worry about him propelling himself out of the nest, both chicks fledged successfully.  The active one left on July 12 followed a day or two by the quieter one.  A couple days later, I had a special unforgettable moment when I saw the Li’l Mama and both chicks at the back feeder.  It was neat to watch as the chicks were hesitant, not knowing quite what to do.  Here are the chicks just before the first one left the nest.  Aren’t they handsome!!

The day the first chick fledged.

The next photo shows just how small the nest is.

The nest is so small.

We were very disappointed that no nests were built on our front porch in 2012 — this in spite of much flying around the supports, occasionally sitting on them, and even depositing a little nesting material.  We can always hope for next year!!

Small Bird Diaries – 2nd. Nest, Part 2 (June 17 thru July 2, 2011)

 When we left our second nest on June 16, our Li’l Mama was sitting on the nest most of the time – day and night.  The outside temperatures were rising getting up in the triple digits F most days.

Days 19 thru 21 (June 17-19).   These days are spent sitting on the nest with occasional absences to feed – primarily in early morning and late evening.

Days 22 thru 26 (June 20-24).  On June 20 (Day 22), things changed drastically.  The Li’l Mama was seen feeding which told me at least one chick had hatched.  Two days later, I took a peek and sure enough I could see two tiny dark bodies in the nest. 

Feedings commenced on June 20 (22 days after nest building began)

June 22. Greatly lightened to show two small bodies in dark interior of nest.

June 22. Li'l Mama sits up higher in nest when temps hit 100F or more.

June 22. She is often seen sitting on the edge of the nest.

On June 24th. we had seen little to no activity so decided to take a look in the nest.  Oh my, I could detect no movement in that dark nest.  Oh no, I’m thinking maybe the heat got to them and they’re dead.  It was up to 106F that day.  Well, happy to say I was wrong — what a difference a few hours can make — not only did we spy little bills sticking up, we could see the top of one baby’s head.  Yay!!!

June 24, Very early finds the Li'l Mama sitting on the edge of the nest.

June 24. Lightened to show tiny quiet babies in nest. No movement detected.

Later on June 24, we could easily see one baby at only about four days old.

Days 27 thru 34.  (June 25 – July 2).  Of the eight babies we’ve had since 2009, one of these has got to be the most rambunctious!  He was raising himself up and wiggling so much, I feared more than once that he was going to propel himself right out of the nest.  Usually we see only bills sticking up until they get fairly well developed.  While I don’t want him to fall out of the nest, I will say that it has given us the opportunity to watch that development more closely

June 25. Active baby can be seen surveying his world.

Feeding time on June 25. Chicks about five days old.

Mirror image, June 25. Chicks about five days old.

June 25. Active chick about five days old.

June 26. Li'l Mama is hot. Chicks about six days old.

June 28. Now at about 8 days old, chick appears to be trying to escape from the nest.

June 28. Enlarged to show the beginnings of feathers. Still appears to be blind.

June 28.

June 28. The chick seems to be yelling "Moooom!!!". LOL

June 29. Chicks about 9 days old. All quiet on the home front.

July 2. Chicks about 12 days old. Look he's getting feathers!

Footnote:  I am even more convinced that our Li’l Mama is a different and perhaps less experienced bird than the one who built the first three nests.  Notice anything different about this nest besides the lack of anchoring spider webs?  Well, it has to do with the droppings.  Previously, the Mama would start flinging the droppings out of the nest by the sixth or seventh day after the chicks were hatched.  This one is not doing this as much.  I don’t know what it looks like down in the nest, but the rim is certainly a mess.  Aha!  maybe that’s why the chick wants to get the heck out of there.  LOL

I’ve included this last photo that may or may not be our Li’l Mama Hummer.  What tickled me about it is that it reminds me of the fascinating to watch African Black Herons.  The Black Heron fans its wings to form an umbrella while feeding.  This unique “canopy feeding” position is held for a few seconds as it wiggles its toes to lure fish into the shadows it has created.  Kind of looks like our hummer here……LOL

July 2. A Hummer imitating a black heron. LOL

Enjoy!

Small Bird Diaries – 2nd. Nest, Part 1 (May 30 thru June 16, 2011)

When we left Part 5 on May 25, 2011, our two baby black-chinned hummingbirds had fledged.  Then in the Epilogue, I mentioned that only five days later, a new nest was started on a different porch support just yards from the first one.  It is the same support that we had nests on two other times (2009 and 2010).  Look for a surprise at the end of this blog.

Day 1, May 30.  It was a very busy day all day for the Li’l Mama Hummer.  We had a family cook-out for Memorial Day so she had a lot of people (11) watching her off and on that first day.  Everyone was intrigued.  They were cooperative when I asked them to come in through the garage so as not to disturb her.  They tease me about how I let a hummingbird rule the front porch — you betcha’ I tell them.  Here’s a video of her working that first day.  She was having a bit of difficulty with one piece of material that was anchored to the support with a spider web.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AiIHioJl88

Day 1, May 30, 2011 at 9:23 a.m.

Day 1. May 30, 2011 at 12:51 pm. Rounding things out with her head and neck.

Day 1, May 30, 2011 at 3:54 pm. Wonder where she gets that material??

Days 2 thru 5 (May 31 – June 3):  The Li’l Mama Hummer was very busy all day long until the fourth and fifth days.  On those last two days we would see her now and again working on it, but not nearly as intensely as the first three days. 

Day 2, May 31, 2011 at 7:24 a.m. Working hard on her nest.

Day 2, May 31, 2011 at 7:25 a.m.

Day 2, May 31, 2011 at 7:28 a.m.

Day 3, June 1, 2011 at 7:17 a.m.

Day 6 thru 18 (June 4 thru 16).  After being around very little for two days, on Day 6 (June 4), everything changed.  On that day, she started sitting on the nest including at night.  This told me that she had laid at least one egg.  When I got out my trusty ladder and mirror to peek in on Day 9, I found two eggs.  I was only able to get one photo as I was soon dive bombed by the Li’l Mama.  Around Day 14 or so, the daytime temperatures started being near 100 F and sometimes a bit over.  When it is so hot, we worry about it hurting the eggs or chicks.  The Li’l Mama sits differently on the nest on those hot days.  She sits up higher on the nest and pushes her head and upper body up.  We again saw another hummingbird stop by for a short hovering visit only to be totally ignored by the Mama — kind of rude, huh?  😉 

Day 6, June 4, 2011 at 4:51 pm. After laying the first egg she is now sitting.

Day 9, June 7, 2011 at 10:39 a.m.

Day 8, June 6, 2011 at 5:54 a.m. Almost always on the nest after egg laying.

Day 8, June 6, 2011 at 2:01 p.m. Current nest on left - First nest on right.

Day 12, June 10, 2011 at 7:05 a.m. Nest is lit by the rising sun only a few minutes each day.

Day 18, June 16, 2011. Sits up higher in nest when the daytime temps hit near 100F

As we leave this Part 1 (2nd. Nest) , the Li’l Mama is still sitting on the nest most of the time including all night.  According to my calculations, it shouldn’t be much longer until we have hatchlings.  

And now for the promised Surprise.  Here’s a comparison of the four nests we have had on our porch starting in 2009.

Nest 1 (May 14, 2009)

Nest 2 (June 18, 2010)

Nest 3 (April 19, 2011)

Nest 4 (June 10, 2011)

Notice anything different about Nest 4??  Well, what a surprise that there are only a couple of very thin webs anchoring the current nest.   A different bird?  I personally think so although admittedly it’s only a feeling on my part.  I also had another impression that this is a first time Mama – nothing you could really put your finger on — just a feeling.  Maybe one of our chicks from 2009 or 2010??  Nice thought, but guess we’ll never know for sure…. 

Enjoy!

 

Small Bird Diaries — Special Bonus Feature

I don’t know what prompted me to do this, but thought it would be fun to try some special effects with my Paint Shop Pro program.  I stopped at 40 even though there were many more possibilities.  I narrowed it down to what I thought were the neatest — and funniest — ones.  My apologies to Mama Hummer.  LOL 

This is the picture I used for the special effects…….

The Original Photo.

Feedback

Curlicues

Sepia

1800 to 1960s. Box Camera

1839 Daguerreotype

Balls and Bubbles

Glowing Edges

Kalidescope

Magnifying Glass

Pentagon

Polar Coordinates

Ripple

Rotating Mirror

Sandstone

Seamless Tiling

Spiky Halo

Twirl

Warp

Weave

From a different picture, but too funny not to include. Curlicues

Small Bird Diaries, Part 5 (May 24 & 25, 2011)

When we left our chicks on May 23, they had gone from the two tiny dark hatchlings with short stubby yellow bills I first saw on May 3rd. to two very handsome birds about ready to fledge.   

May 24.  Since it takes around 21 days before the chicks fledge, I figured this just might be the big day so I got out to check on them what I thought was early — 7:00 a.m.   Guess it wasn’t so early after all as one chick had already fledged.  Darn, I missed it, but we still had one more to go so maybe I still had a chance to witness that one. 

As I watched mesmerized for the next hour, the Mama tried to prod the other chick to fledge.  He was having none of it although it was plain that he was thinking about it.  Finally about 8:00 a.m., the Mama gave up and the chick pretty much settled in for the rest of the day.  The Mama came to feed him now and again and he would occasionally do wing flapping exercises.   I took 54 photos that day.  They’re not the best with the lighting and trying to focus on such a small subject with a point and shoot camera.  Here are the best ones that tell the story of an amazing experience to watch.

May 25.  Now, I was very sure this was to be the big day so I was checking the nest by 6:00 a.m. although it wasn’t very light as yet.  It was surprising to find the Mama there already trying to get the chick to leave the nest.  She wasn’t as insistent as she had been the previous day and gave up on him about 8:30.  Later, I thought I might be able to get a neat picture so went out on the porch with the ladder.  It didn’t work out for the picture, but while I was there I asked him why he was being such a brat — he should listen to his mother.  He just stared at me and blinked a couple times — not unlike some human teenagers.  LOL 

Very Early May 25.

Early May 25.

May 25 early

I went out again about 10:55 a.m. and took this photo from the front.

About 10:55 a.m. from the front.

About 11:15 a.m., I saw that the Mama was there feeding the chick.  I turned around to tell Paul she was there and when I turned back — they were gone.  Oh shoot!!!  I missed it the chick fledging by mere seconds.  I went outside and they were in the front tree.  The Mama came back over to me so knew I was making her nervous so went back inside.  They hung around in the tree for some time, but with the leaves I couldn’t get any photos.  Of course, we had mixed feelings seeing them go — happy for them — sad for us.  We’ll miss them.

Empty Nest. May 25.

EPILOGUE.  Before when the chicks had fledged, we didn’t see the Mama any more hanging around the porch.  This time, however, I saw her around the porch a couple  times afterwards.  Two days after the last chick fledged, I went out with the ladder and mirror to get a shot of the inside of the nest and darned if the Mama didn’t come after me.  What a surprise!  Then I saw her another day actually pecking around the old nest.  Hmmmm!  I’m wondering, is she thinking of doing a second clutch in the old nest???  Actually, not quite as it turned out.  The last chick fledged on May 25 and on May 30, she started a brand new nest just feet from the old one on the other support she had used before.  Here’s what it looked like on May 30.

Second Nest on May 30.

ENJOY!  One more thing before we leave this nest — I will be adding a Special Bonus Feature.