The nest!

Yesterday, as we were removing an 18+ foot tall Japanese Maple tree in our courtyard, we found this...

This hummingbird nest is a little tiny work of art, isn't it? How do they build such a beautiful and tiny nest and how does it hold two babies?

Other than taking out the tree, it was a quiet day for us. A quiet and relaxing Labor Day. I'm still finding it difficult to believe that it's September already.

Take care,

Hummingbirds are here...

Well, it's that time of year again, although it seems to arrive more quickly every year. :)

Anyway about two or three weeks ago, I happened to see a hummingbird fixing up last year's nest. Then, all of a sudden, she/he was sitting on it all the time. Now, she/he is feeding babies in it. I don't know how many there are yet, but my guess is two.

The tree with the nest is in one of the interior corners of my courtyard so these photos are from each side. Kind of nice to watch from two different viewing angles. If you double-click the photos, they will enlarge and you will be able to see the bird really close up. This year I'm allowed to get pretty close without the bird getting spooked and flying away. Maybe it's the same bird from last year and it's used to having a camera pointed at it all the time. ha ha!

eta on 3/13/13: as of 4pm today the babies are no longer alive. I don't know why, but the mother/ father bird(s) did not return to the nest today. So sad...

My SALE is still going strong (and I'm still hoping you'll visit)!! We've got GREAT prices...come see! Remember that once a fabric is gone, it's gone. I won't be reordering. I'm hoping that everything sells out in the next month or two so I can close up the present shop and open my etsy shop. 

Take care,

There's been lots of activity...

Yesterday one of the babies did leave the nest for the first time. He/she flew around quite a bit and we finally saw him/her sitting up on one of the higher branches in the tree all by him/her self. Then, he/she flew back to the nest and sat with the other baby - the one who has yet to try that "flying thing". This morning I was watching the second baby flex his/her wings but he/she still didn't leave the nest. Look at that cute little white bottom.

This is the first time I've seen babies leave the nest and then come back. They usually hang around the courtyard (but not in the nest) for a day or two and then leave for good. Such fun!!

My husband thinks the first baby to leave was a female since his theory is that females learn those kinds of things quicker than males. What do you think? Got any good theories?

The babies are getting really big...

This is the biggest we've ever seen the babies get before they leave the nest. The previous two years we had a Hummingbird nest and babies, they left when then were much smaller than this. It's been a strange Hummingbird year this year, beginning with a nest in a leafless tree to babies that almost seem too large for the nest. I do think that they will be flying away any day now and I'll be very sorry to see them go, although I'm always happy to know they've survived the process.

Happy Saturday!

Oh, and don't forget what a great sale we're having in the shop through 3/7/12.

MIA...

I've been "missing in action" because I've been very busy watching Hummingbird babies. In the three years that we've had nests and babies, I've never seen quite this type of activity before. Especially on a tree with barely any leaf cover. It's really interesting.

I left the photo a larger size than I normally do so you can click on it and see the babies better.

It seems early in the season...

We have hummingbird babies already. It seems way too early in the season for this, but I guess it's not unusual.

I tried to get photos of the babies heads bobbing up and down and of the babies being fed, but that wasn't possible today. So I'll just keep trying. Third year that we've had this same nest and I'm glad because it's so much fun to watch the process.

Oh, I almost forgot....Happy Valentines Day!!

Take care,

Another color palette and hummingbirds...again.

You know how much I love color palettes so I couldn't resist posting another one.

We also have a hummingbird nest already. It's fun watching the mom and dad hummingbird sit on the nest. If you want to see the mosaic I created, it's here.

Happy Monday!