Hummingbird Nest Events

In an earlier post I documented the construction of a hummingbird nest in the pear tree just behind our house. This post will complete the story; click on any image to enlarge.

July 5th

July 6th

July 7th

July 8th

July 9th

July 11th

July 13th -- feeding chicks!

July 14th

July 15th, caught her with beak open

July 16th -- clearly two chicks

July 17th

July 19th -- feeding

July 19th -- chicks resting in nest

July 20th

July 21st, growing chicks

July 23rd

July 24th -- empty, and edge torn in places

Unfortunately, "that darn circle of life," as Joan would put it, had struck overnight. A predator had raided the nest. Hummer nests have a long list of threats, such as squirrels, snakes, chipmunks, rats, corvids (jays, crows) and other larger birds, etc. We surmise, because it happened  during a warm night on an flimsy branch, most likely it was a snake that took the chicks. Joan and I mourn the loss.

 

The mother hummingbird has not returned to the nest. Several hummers continue to squabble over our feeders, and Joan has spotted a hummer gathering nesting material at the edge of the woods, but they fly off into the trees and we cannot see where they go. We have our fingers crossed for another nesting session somewhere in the pear tree next year.  

Baby Hummingbirds

Joan and I have been watching a pair of baby hummingbirds as they rapidly grow. At first they were just hypothetical eggs being kept warm by mama, tucked into a lichen-clad nest she'd carefully built in a pear tree barely a dozen feet from our house.

We checked every day, waiting for signs of hatching. We would wonder, "Is that the tip of a beak peeking over the edge?" One day we were certain it was.

There were two chicks, one larger than the other, likely having broken out of its shell a day or two earlier. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

My, how you've grown!

Mama was very busy feeding the hungry ones, even when she was harassing a juvenile owl hanging around our yard one day. Begging is mandatory.

Me! Me! Me!

Bigger sib seems to get fed first.

Mom knows how to fix 'em.

But Mama doesn't ignore the smaller one.

Smaller sibling's turn.

Every day the nest is more crowded. It's a good thing they don't weigh much, or the one in the lower bunk might get crushed.

When one gets restless or needs to exercise those untested wings, well, it's awkward, isn't it?

It's getting close to their departure date. Some morning at least one will have flown.

Hummingbird Alert!

"You've got to come down to the dining room!" Joan called up to me. "I can see a hummingbird building a nest!"

Indeed, in the lower branches of an ornamental pear tree, perhaps 12 feet off the ground and 15 feet from our dining room window, construction was in progress.

The construction zone.

All photos were taken through glass.

The nest builder, with a thin strand of spider silk, barely visible, attached to the tip of her tail (click on the image to enlarge).

She appears to be sitting calmly on the nest in this photo, but she's constantly squiggling, smoothing the interior contours of the new home.

Sometimes flapping is required.

A nearby squirrel was not impressed,

but Joan and I are enamored with our new neighbor, and with the prospect of observing a hummingbird family over the next month. Our binoculars will not gather dust, and the next hummingbird post is here.

CR2015: Three Lakes Hike at Mistaya

I put my camera into burst mode and tried to get some hummingbird pictures before we left on today's hike. The feeder on the east side of the lodge is visited by swarms of rufous hummingbirds, who will buzz each other and contest each other's presence at the feeder. We were told that when the birds are very young, they tolerate each other well, because they are typically raised more than one to a nest. Then suddenly they are territorial and there are waves of frantic, buzzing "dogfights" followed by brief truces at the feeder.

Another photo.

It was another handsome day, making four in a row since we left Lake O'Hara. Today most of the lodge guests are taking the guided Three Lakes Hike, vigorous but not as strenuous as yesterday's climb of West Peyto Peak. This map shows the key locations of this wide loop (click to enlarge).

We started climbing straightaway after leaving the lodge.

Our first major stop, not visible in the above map, is the Karst Hole, where the water leaving Stonebird Lake (bottom right corner of the map) disappears into the porous terrain.

It was a good spot to stop and switch from huff-and-puff to a moment of contemplation. Stonebird Lake is beyond the near horizon.

Over the rocks and up a draw we hiked.

Stonebird Lake hove into view below the peaks that define the continental divide and the boundary between Alberta and British Columbia.

We continued around the lake to the left; in the grassy slopes fireweed was blooming.

We climbed further, past the lake,

and here Sandra, our guide, pointed out the namesake bird image in the cliff face. It took me a few moments, but I finally spotted it. The degree of difficulty recognizing it varies with the lighting and the amount of water cascading down the cliff. This photo zooms in on the rocky avian, smack in the center and filling most of the space from top to bottom.

We quickly came up to Longshadow Lake, and decided it was a good place for first lunch.

The next photo looks back as we left the lake, post-dining.

Twenty minutes later we encountered young hoary marmot, full of curiosity about us.

We continued up to the top of the "Mista-Vista" knob, 8,300 ft. altitude, and stared at the panorama.

I walked over to the southern edge, and spotted the third of our three lakes, Leprechaun Lake, below. This lake has no visible outflow.

Our group came down from Mista Vista and walked along Heather Ridge, where we stopped for a snack, or, if you budgeted your food carefully, your second lunch. We learned from Sandra that fir trees have cones that point up, while spruce bear cones that point down. ("Fir fingers; spruce sag.") Descending from the ridge we entered the woods again, and saw some flowers that had recently boomed, including butterwort.

We arrived back at the lodge and settled our pigs back in the window.

Dinner was early tonight, to give everybody time to pack for tomorrow's departure. Afterwards, Joan and I visited the helipad to check out the evening sun,

and one of the best images was looking south towards the Sceptre Spire.

Joan and I also took a few minutes to visit the greenhouse close by the lodge. Much of the lettuce, spinach, and other greens used by the lodge come from the greenhouse.

Then it was time to turn in, our last night at Mistaya Lodge.