I TOOK THIS PICTURE ON MAY 25, 2023, THE FIRST DAY THAT I SPOTTED AND WATCHED THE BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINBIRD NEST AT MY MOTHER-IN-LAW'S HOUSE ON THE COMAL RIVER IN NEW BRAUNFELS, TEXAS.

A Hummingbird Tale and A Quick Trip To The Coast To Visit Old Friends

Prologue…

I returned from my birding trip to Costa Rica in February of 2023, determined to upgrade my photography equipment and skills.  While I managed some good shots with my Nikon P1000, it just couldn’t get the job done in the low light of the forest canopies.  My goal was to be prepared to be the best photographer I could be by the time I left for my trip to Brazil, scheduled for departure on August 14, 2023.  First order of business was to decide whether I needed to upgrade my equipment.  My Nikon D7200 was beginning to look pretty ragged, having suffered through many desert hikes (and spills) over these last number of years.  After much research, I decided to purchase a used D500, which is recognized as one of the best birding cameras available, unless you are willing to spend the money to upgrade to the Nikon mirrorless Z series, which I was not.  I also decided I  would take the following lenses on my Brazil trip:  one fixed telephoto lens (Nikon 500 PF 5.6), one mid-range telephoto lens (Nikon 80-400), and a 50 mm prime lense for landscapes and street photography.   I also decided to take a leap of faith and begin to shoot in RAW +  Jpeg formats.  In order to do that, I had to update the firmware on the Nikon D500 and purchase some high capacity and high speed memory cards.  The final piece of the puzzle was to sign up for Adobe Lightroom Classic and begin to use it to organize and process my photos.  Once I got up to speed with my equipment, I began to devote time each day to practicing with my new camera and lenses, focusing on low light situations and backlit subjects.  Almost immediately, I understood the benefits of shooting RAW.  Below are two versions of one of my early practice photos, one a JPEG and one RAW with post processing in Lightroom Classic and exported as a JPEG.  As you can see, the subject in the JPEG only photo was backlit and very under-exposed.  In the second photo, you can see an amazing difference that was primarily the result of adjusting the exposure of the RAW version of the same photo in Lightroom.  

Encouraged by these early positive results, I kept at it, practicing almost daily.  Since I checked on my mother-in-law’s house on the Comal River several times each week, I got into the habit of sitting down by the river in the low light under the canopy of the oak and pecan trees.  I eventually spotted a hummingbird nest, which became the subject of this blog post. 

I Spot a Female Black-chinned Hummingbird and Her Nest…


On the morning of Thursday, May 25, 2023,  I was sitting by the Comal River at my mother-in-law’s house in New Braunfels when I spotted a hummingbird in flight.  I was able to follow the bird as it returned to a nest, and sat in the nest for the next 15 or 20 minutes.  I took several photos of the bird in its nest, one of which is posted in the header above.  When I returned home, I did some research on several of the Cornell websites:  eBird, All About Birds, and Birds of the World.  I determined that the bird was a female Black-chinned Hummingbird and was incubating a clutch of eggs, spending about 75% of each hour sitting on her eggs. I learned that the incubation period I was observing lasted an average of 12 to 14 days.  I visited the nest site on May 27, May 31, June 2, June 6, and June 11, 2023, taking photos on each visit.  Below are two photos, one from May 31, and one from June 11, 2023.   

THE BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD ON HER NEST ABOVE THE COMAL RIVER, MAY 31, 2023.
JUNE 11, 2023, SHE IS STILL INCUBATING HER CLUTCH!

A Quick Trip to the Coast and, Upon Our Return, We Have Two Nestlings!


My hummingbird adventure was briefly interupted beginning on June 14, 2023, as Dorothy and I drove to the coast and spent several days in the home of Jeannie and Loyd Koenig at Bayou Vista near Galveston with our good friends Lynn and Charlie Pollard.  We had a relaxing visit, and it was so good to catch up with the Koenigs and to spend time with Charlie and Lynn.  We enjoyed several boat rides with Captain Lloyd along the Bayou Vista residential canals adjacent to West Bay.  There was plenty of good food, including a wonderful shrimp boil, and a lovely dinner at BLVD Seafood on Galveston Island.  There was no shortage of reminiscing as we revisited fun times courtesy of Lloyd’s extensive archive of photos and videos.   I also got up early one morning and drove over to Lafitte’s Cove Preserve on Galveston Island for some birding.  A few pictures from our little jaunt to the coast…

LYNN POLLARD, JEANNIE KOENIG, AND DOROTHY MCCOPPIN, GETTING IN THE MOOD FOR A SHRIMP BOIL! JUNE 14, 2023.
A POST SHRIMP BOIL BOAT RIDE. WHAT COULD BE BETTER?!
CAPTAIN LLOYD KOENIG...TRULY ONE OF A KIND!
A BEAUTIFUL SUNSET AND A BEAUTIFUL FRIEND!
CHARLIE AND LLOYD, MAKING THE ROUNDS AT BAYOU VISTA ON LLOYD'S GOLF CART. WITH LLOYD, THERE IS NEVER A SHORTAGE OF RVs, BOATS, AND OTHER ASSORTED TOYS!
CHARLIE AND LYNN POLLARD AT BLVD SEAFOOD, THE NO. 1 RATED SEAFOOD RESTAURANT ON GALVESTON ISLAND. OUR 47 YEAR FRIENDSHIP WITH THE POLLARDS HAS BEEN A SUPREME BLESSING IN OUR LIVES.
YOURS TRULY WITH LLOYD AT BLVD SEAFOOD. THANK YOU LLOYD AND JEANNIE FOR THE VIP TREATMENT WE ENJOYED AT THIS GREAT RESTAURANT!
A BEAUTIFUL TRICOLORED HERON I MET AND WATCHED AT LAFITTE'S COVE NATURE PRESERVE ON GALVESTON ISLAND ON THE MORNING OF JUNE 15, 2023.
ONE OF SEVERAL ROSEATE SPOONBILLS I WATCHED AT LAFITTE'S COVE PRESERVE.

We made it back from the coast in time to celebrate Father’s Day with Liz, David, and Little J.D., and what a great Father’s Day it was!  But, my mind kept wondering about the status of the hummingbird nest.  I knew there was a good chance that the incubation period was done with and the clutch had hatched while we were out of town.  I finally made it into New Braunfels on the morning of Tuesday, June 20, and, to my delight, I was greeted by the sight of two new chicks in the nest and a mother that was spending most of her time foraging and returning to the nest for feeding the growing chicks about every 15 to 20 minutes.  The actual feeding time was quite brief, usually not lasting more than 1 to 3 minutes.  Here are a few photos from my initial meeting with the two new hummingbird nestlings.   

AT FIRST I COULD BARELY SEE THE BEAK OF THE LARGER OF THE TWO CHICKS.
I STAYED SEVERAL HOURS AT THE NEST ON THE MORNING OF JUNE 20 AND SAW A NUMBER OF FEEDINGS AND NEST VISITS BY THE FEMALE. YOU CAN SEE IN THIS PICTURE THAT THE LARGER CHICK HAS NOT YET HAD FEATHERS DEVELOP, INDICATING IT IS LESS THAN 6 DAYS OLD.
THIS IS ONE OF THE FIRST PHOTOS I GOT OF AN ACTUAL FEEDING. THE SMALLER CHICK IS NOT EVEN VISIBLE INSIDE THE NEST, BUT IT WOULD NOT BE LONG BEFORE BOTH CHICKS WOULD BE EAGER TO BE FED EACH TIME THEIR MOTHER VISITED THE NEST.

When I visited the nest the next day (the morning of Wednesday, June 21, 2023), I could clearly see both chicks being fed by the mother.  As you can see from the next two photos, they were really getting the hang of it!  Still no evidence of feather development on the nestling chicks. 

THE MOTHER FEEDING THE LARGER CHICK. TYPICALLY ONE BIRD OF A TWO EGG CLUTCH IS BORN THE DAY BEFORE THE SECOND CHICK HATCHES. I AM ASSUMING THE LARGER CHICK WAS THE ONE THAT WAS BORN FIRST.
AFTER PATIENTLY WAITING FOR ITS TURN, THE SMALLER CHICK GETS FED ON THE MORNING OF JUNE 21, 2023. THIS WAS ALL VERY EXCITING FOR THIS OLD MAN TO WATCH!

I tried to visit the nest every day, since I could see signs of the chicks developing and growing from one day to the next.  I knew from the Cornell sites that the nestling period would last an average of 21 days, and that, between day 6 through 9, the chicks would show signs of feather development.  On the morning of Thursday, June 22, 2023, the chicks were definitely larger, more alert, and showing signs of feather development.  Here are a few photos from the morning of June 22, 2023. 

ONE NESTLING WAS STILL CLEARLY LARGER, AND ALWAYS SEEMED TO GET FED FIRST.
THE CHICKS APPEARED TO BE MORE ALERT, ANXIOUSLY AWAITING THEIR MOTHER AND THE NEXT FEEDING.
YOU CAN DEFINITELY SEE SIGNS ON FEATHER DEVELOPMENT ON THE NESTLING CHICKS IN THIS PHOTO TAKEN ON JUNE 22, 2023.

An Interesting Development —  Friend or Foe??

After visiting the hummingbird nest for three days in a row, I was unable to make it into town on Friday, June 23, 2023.  But I was there bright and early on the morning of Saturday,  June 24, 2023, and immediately noticed that things were a little different around the nest.  The mother seemed distracted, constantly looking up, and around, and seemed to be lingering at the nest longer than usual after a feeding.  I soon saw what I believe was the reason for this behavior — there was a brief visit to the nest by another bird.  Was it a male or a female?  Was it a friend or foe?  Or perhaps just a casual encounter in the neighborhood?  The invading visitor briefly hovered near the nest, but I saw no evidence of agression, and, in short order, the visitor was gone, and I have not seen him or her since.  The rest of my time watching that morning seemed normal, with periodic feedings of grateful and enthusiastic chicks!

A VISITOR MAKES AN UNEXPECTED APPEARANCE ON THE MORNING OF SATURDAY, JUNE 24, 2023. NOTE HOW THE MOTHER AND THE TWO CHICKS ARE ALL LOOKING UPWARD, AS IF ON ALERT.
ANOTHER SHOT OF THE VISITOR TO THE NEST. NEITHER THE MOTHER (PERCHED ON THE EDGE OF THE NEST) OR THE VISITOR SHOWED ANY SIGNS OF OFFENSIVE OR DEFENSIVE AGGRESSION.
NOT LONG AFTER THE VISITOR LEFT THE AREA OF THE NEST, THINGS RETURNED TO NORMAL, AND THE CHICKS WERE EAGER TO BE FED.
THE CHICKS WERE SOON EATING LIKE OLD PROS ONCE AGAIN.

When I visited the nest the next day (Sunday, June 25, 2023), I observed nothing out of the ordinary.  The two chicks were starting to look closer in size, and both were sporting more feathers, including tail feathers.  A couple of photos from my Sunday visit.

THERE DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE MUCH DIFFERENCE IN SIZE BETWEEN THE CHICKS IN THIS SUNDAY MORNING PHOTO.
BOTH SETS OF TAIL FEATHERS ON THE CHICKS APPEAR TO BE FULLY FORMED. GETTING CLOSER AND CLOSER TO FLEDGING.

Time to Fledge?


When I saw what the chicks were up to on the morning of Tuesday, June 27th, I knew they were close to fledging.  The Birds of the World website describes the fledging behaviors of Black-chinned Hummingbird chicks like this:

Fledging observed under captive conditions and in wild birds usually sudden and complete. After several days of wing exercise, while tightly holding on to the nest with the feet, the young bird abruptly flies to a perch ≥1 m from the nest. Young birds at this stage begin to practice flight and feeding behaviors (one young usually leaves a day before the other). The tongue is extended to everything within reach and, as flight capabilities improve and tongue placement nets nutrient reward, birds begin to learn how to forage (no parental guidance).

As you can see from the photos I took that morning, the chicks were perching on the edge of the nest and practicing their wing exercises.  It also appeared to me that the mother was spending time hovering near the nest, almost in an encouraging manner.  And it was obvious that the two chicks were now almost as large as their mother.  Here are some of the last photos I took of the chicks still in the nest.   

MY FIRST PHOTO OF THE FLEDGLING BEHAVIOR KNOWN AS WING PRACTICE.
THE CHICKS WERE SPENDING THE MAJORITY OF THEIR TIME ENGAGING IN WING PRACTICE.
ONE LAST FEEDING PHOTO. NOTE THAT THE CHICKS ARE ALMOST AS LARGE AS THEIR MOTHER.
THEY LOOK COMPLETELY READY TO FLEDGE TO ME. WHAT DO YOU THINK??

I Didn’t Even Get A Chance To Say Goodbye…


On  Wednesday, June 28, 2023, I had a 2:00 p.m. doctor’s appointment with my urologist in Kyle.  He was a no show (guess he is not TOO concerned that my prostate cancer might be spreading!), so I headed back to New Braunfels, fully expecting to see the chicks doing wing exercises.  But no such luck.  They had flown the coop without even saying goodbye. Well, it was fun while it lasted and, if I have learned anything at all during my 70+ years on the planet, it is that all good things must come to an end.  I spent about an hour and a half scouring the canopy near the nest hoping to find my friends one last time, but there was nary a trace.  Their departure was sudden and abrupt indeed.  I will stop by again in the morning, but fully expect to find only an empty nest.  Well done my little friends!   

THE EMPTY NEST THAT GREETED ME ON THE AFTERNOON OF WEDNESDAY, JUNE 28, 2023.