04 07 2021 Hhh (WS) Little Miracles [Explored]

An Anna's Hummingbird feeding one of two chicks this spring.

 

After a lot of setbacks with software conflicts and the like, I am finally bringing to you the beginning of the hummingbird documentary. It can be viewed at the following link:

youtu.be/d7B5MADfkGI

 

This documentary follows one female Anna's Hummingbird and her two successive nest sites in the spring of 2021. It is a tragic story, as you will eventually see, but all starts out well in the first nest I found. This video shows the beginning of her story as I saw it.

 

There have been documented cases of one female making four successive nest sites in one season. Not wanting to overdo my presence and the possible stress it can bring, I closely followed the first nest I found, and did only a cursory check-up with the second nest. As a result, I do not know if she had a nest before or after this set.

 

Time spent at the nest site varied, but was usually limited to only one hour. The female became used to my presence within that first hour. In spite of this, most video footage was taken after I had set up the gear and left, in order to keep stress levels low and not draw predators attention to the site. If you are careful to observe, in the last clip, she does seem extra careful as a flock of crows were nearby. After feeding the chicks, she went over to harass them.

 

This series is dedicated to friends of the family on whose property the nest was located. I am very thankful to them for letting me traipse all over their front lawn at intervals over the course of several weeks in order to document this family from the best possible angle.

 

Please don't use this image on websites, blogs, etc. without my permission.

Done