Broadtail Hummingbird ready to feed

Nest is about 10 feet above ground in a 35′ Blue Spruce in Evergreen CO at 7500′ in elevation. Babies were about 7-10 days old at this point in time. Canon 6D at 400mm.

It’ll be OK little sister.

I had been filming this nest for 5 weeks and fledge day was near. I watched them try, hesitate and try again, but they just were not able to fly. I didn’t take my camera off them for many hours and during that time, this precious moment appeared.

Rufous Hummingbird Nest

Two eggs are laid in a Rufous Hummingbird nest. One is tucked right up against the near wall and hard to see while the other is in clear sight. The walls of the nest are quite high to help keep the eggs safe during windstorms when they could be tossed out. The nest is made of fluffy plant material stuck together with spider web and is flexible so it stretches when the chicks grow. It’s camouflage precisely matches the color and texture of the branch it was built on.

A Rufous Hummingbird feeding it’s Chick

A Rufous Hummingbird renovated and re-used last years nest in a fir tree. It was right off the gable end of a house so I was able to sit on the peak of the roof and get this shot. I sent up a webcam and lots of people watched as the chick, “Rusty”, developed and eventually fledged. Rusty was the sole hatchling from a pair of eggs which were laid and he thrived.