A Hummingbird Tale, Year 2
Last year (2023) I had the good fortune to locate an active hummingbird nest at Dorothy’s mom’s house on the Comal River in New Braunfels, Texas. I had a wonderful time over the next few weeks as I watched the nest and saw two chicks develop until they fledged. I wrote about my experience and posted some photos on my blog.
Fast forward to 2024. The previous year I spotted the first hummingbird nest near the end of May, so about the middle of May I began to check the old nest, thinking the hummers might reuse it. On July 5th I was at the River House, sitting on the stone bench down on the concrete bulkhead. Since I had seen no activity at the old nest, I was just watching for birds of any size and stripe. I noticed a hummingbird feeding across the river and watched as it flew back to a nest located about ten feet from the old nest. I was elated! The new nest was not only closer to Betty’s bulkhead, but it looked more open, without any limbs that would obstruct my view of the nest.
After discovering the new nest on July 5, 2024, I began to visit the River House more frequently, anticipating the birth of the clutch of eggs the mother was sitting on (I hoped!). I soon noticed that while the new nest was more open and closer, the new mother seemed much more skittish. I started to take more care in approaching the nest and staying further away so as to not disturb the mother. On July 24, 2024 I got my first look at two newborn chicks — I was in hog heaven. I decided to try to visit the nest every other day, and to attempt to document their growth and development. Below are the Nexting Facts for the Black-chinned Hummingbird found on Cornell’s All About Birds website:
NESTING FACTS
| Clutch Size: | 2 eggs |
| Number of Broods: | 1-3 broods |
| Egg Length: | 0.5-0.6 in (1.2-1.4 cm) |
| Egg Width: | 0.3 in (0.8 cm) |
| Incubation Period: | 12-16 days |
| Nestling Period: | 21 days |
| Egg Description: | White. |
| Condition at Hatching: | About one-quarter inch long, unfeathered except for two rows of sparse downy feathers along the back, eyes closed. |
As you can see from the Nesting Facts above, I should have 2 to 3 weeks of observing the chicks as nestlings. As they get closer to fledging I will probably try to spend more time at the site. I decided to try to observe and take my photos from the same spot on each visit, and to shield myself a little from the nest. Here is my setup…
Observation 1, Wednesday July 24, 2024
Observation 2, Friday July 26, 2024
Observation 3, Sunday July 28, 2024
Observation 4, Tuesday July 30, 2024
Our daughter Liz had called us at the last minute to help babysit our grandson J.D. so I didn’t get to visit the site on Tuesday July 30 until around 6:15 p.m. The light was horrible, with the setting sun back-lighting the nest. When I arrived the mother was not on the nest so I took a few photos of the chicks and quickly decided it would be a waste of time to spend much time at the site. Below is one of the photos I took that evening.
Observation 5, Wednesday July 31, 2024
Since my time at the nest the prior day was so short and the lighting so poor I decided not to wait 2 days for my next visit. The chicks are growing so fast! Unfortunately I didn’t get very good looks today. The mother has begun to feed the chicks with her back to me. I tried altering my position, but it didn’t help much. Here are some of my pictures from today. The chicks are maturing rapidly and I think the nestling stage will be over before I know it!
While watching the hummingbird nest on this morning, I also observed a doe and her fawn creep down the wooded hillside across the river to drink. Here are some photos of these beautiful animals.
A Sad Ending, Friday August 2, 2024
Friday morning, August 2, 2024, I headed over to the river house, excited to see the mother and her chicks. I had placed a step ladder in my car, hoping to get some different looks at the nest. Upon arrival, I set the ladder up behind the fence located adjacent to our river house property. I climbed up to see I had a great view, but immediately noticed that the nest appeared empty. I relocated to my usual post and watched the empty nest for about an hour, with no sign of the chicks or the mother. My guess is that the nest was the victim of a predator. The Birds of the World website has reports of snakes and birds (Jays, Tanagers, and small Owls to name a few) preying on hummingbird nests. While saddened by the loss, am humbled by the majesty of our natural world!
