This is part 2 of the hummingbird story. The chicks are growing daily and ready to launch. I have been able to photograph them mostly through a window, which is not the best circumstances. However, if I get too close to them in the out doors, the chicks get very low in the nest and momma circles around. I really do not want to cause any undue stress for the tiny birds. They have a tough life ahead of them and a lifespan of only five years. Interesting, the rate of survival of the baby chick hummingbirds is only around 40%. We will be lucky if they launch safely.

Momma visits the nest many times each hour during the day but she is no longer sleeping on the nest. Mostly, her life consists of visiting the feeder, feeding the babes and returning to a hedge where she has a great vantage point. Here is a shot I took of her visiting the nest. The camera was on a tripod and I used a remote shutter release. Also, I set the shutter speed to as fast as possible, since she is a very speedy. Additionally, the raw file was cropped in photoshop and boy am I happy for the 60 megapixel raw file to work with!

Wild Hummingbird Feeds Her Chicks

The feeder is attracting a lot of hummingbirds, but Momma bird is very territorial of the feeder and the food, running off any other hummingbird. Hummingbird food consists of sugar water and the recipe is very easy.  Bring 1/4 cup sugar and 1 cup of water a boil to melt the sugar, then let the mixture cool before putting in the feeder. Apparently, as soon as the a hummingbird beak reaches the sugar water it is contaminated, so no need to boil for any length of time.

Check out the video of her chasing off other birds

Thanks for stopping by and checking out what is happening with the hummingbirds in my backyard. This has been so much fun learning about and watching these little guys! I hope you have something in your world that brings you joy.

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