Baby hummingbirds taking wing

I admit I’ve been obsessed with watching the hummingbird nest for the last few weeks. However, I was trying to be respectful and only visit the nest up close every three days to not stress the little birds as often. A week ago, the birds were starting to look much more birdlike.

One was distinctly showing green feathers. I could see two beaks protruding from the nest from a distance, but waited the allotted time before coming for a close up visit again. When I approached, I could see two beaks poking out of the nest, with one crossed on top. I was hoping to get a picture, but as I approached, one of the birds took off and all I saw were retreating tail feathers in the distance.

This was all that remained in the nest.

I couldn’t really tell if the bird who had just taken flight was the sibling or the mother bird, but I assumed it was the mother, since flight happened so easily and suddenly. The nest, which had been looking a bit crowded now seemed pretty roomy, as it had stretched considerably from when it had only contained the two eggs.

The remaining hummingbird chick was now getting lots of attention from mama bird. She fed him and gave him kisses with her long tongue.

Then they would snuggle in the nest together. The mama bird knew their time together was coming to an end, and so did I. I was hoping to get a few more pictures up close before my three day waiting period was over.

When the time came, I checked the nest from the window and saw with relief that there was still a little bird waiting in the nest. I gathered my camera, the tripod, my hat, and set out. When I got around the corner, I was surprised to see no beak poking out of the nest. This was the aerial view.

I searched on the ground to see if the bird had possibly fallen out, and saw a shadow moving in a now-familiar way. Looking up, I saw a hummingbird darting around over me, as if pleased to have escaped his last close-up nest portrait session. Apparently I had missed his first flight out of the nest by mere minutes, possibly even seconds.

I was very disappointed to have been so close to witnessing the first flight, but happy to know that the little bird was successfully using his wings well and could now find insects and nectar independently instead of waiting alone.

I consoled myself that I could at least set up my flash equipment again, since the shy mama bird now only had to feed herself at this point.

It wasn’t long before we had a visitor.

Was it one of the new fledglings or one of our adult patrons? Since juveniles look so similar to adult females, it was too hard to tell, but I suspect it was one of the babies, because he didn’t seem affected by the flash at all. He didn’t startle and duck like the shy mama bird, and he didn’t fly around to inspect the camera and flashes like the curious bird. He just went to the feeder and flowers and ignored the flash completely. I suppose if he was new to the outside world, he might think this is just how things work.

It’s amazing how they change from unimpressive little brown blobs into these beautiful green jewels in the space of three weeks. As they say, babies grow up so fast!