The hummer chicks are almost a week old.

[Catshrink]

They are getting fuzzier and bigger by the day. If you haven't been following this, here's the link:

http://phoebeallens.com/

Some info:

° The nest is in a rosebush in someone's yard in Orange County, CA

° The nest is about the size of a golf ball.

° The eggs were about the size of peas.

° The baby hummers when born were the length of a penny's diameter.

° The mom's name is Phoebe and she has about 5 nests in the yard that she visits, repairing and rebuilding.

° The fuzzy stuff in the interior of the nest is spider web silk.

[havocmom]

1. thank you

amazing what a stress reliever a hummer cam can be.

[madmax]

2. lol n/t

[havocmom]

16. OK, to be fair, that WASN"T my intention and it took a minute to get 'lol'

:blush:

I just love nature films....

shit, did I do it again?

[madmax]

23. yeah right

:rofl:

[azmouse]

3. I'm addicted to that site.

A few years ago we had hummingbird nest in our yard but the nest was a bit too high to see inside. This feels like my chance to see what was going on inside the nest. They are fascinating little birds.

[Kadie]

4. I check in on them everyday.

Got to see the second one hatch.

I have also been watching Molly's owlbox. The 4 owlets are getting so big and about ready to leave the box.

http://www.ustream.tv/theowlbox

[csziggy]

48. Here are some more owlets

Barred owls, in Winter Spring, Florida:
http://www.wbu.com/feedercam_home.html

[elleng]

5. AND the babies, 'naturally,' 'shoot' their poop out of the nest!

One of the funniest things to observe!

[Catshrink]

8. That is so funny!

It's amazing that's one of the first things they learn to do!

[elleng]

14. They don't have to 'learn' it, its inherent,

which is one of the reasons I 'believe' in NATURE!

[Rowdyboy]

6. Just what I needed-a new obsession!

Thanks for posting this neat site

[azmouse]

9. Remember the website for next season too!

A hummingbird has been building nests in this same yard for several years now and the homeowners show the new nests every year. :)

[Catshrink]

11. You're welcome!

It is addicting!

[aquart]

7. The Mom bird is Phoebe? With 5 nests at once?

[Catshrink]

10. I think this is the only one with chicks...

They said she has 3-4 "clutches" a year so maybe she's getting a nest ready for the next batch.

[azmouse]

13. It's one nest a time.

Her last nest was unsuccessful. The eggs didn't hatch. :(
That's when this nest started. Everyone is overjoyed about the two healthy babies.

[The Backlash Cometh]

39. I don't want to kill Tinker Bell, but...

I don't think this is the same hummingbird as the one with the two non viable eggs or the one that had her eggs snatched from the nest. That bird looked older and very tired. She had even laid her eggs in nests that had already been constructed. This new bird looks younger & stronger. The feathers don't look quite as dull as the "old Phoebe."

[azmouse]

40. You're right.

I guess I forgot about that. Even though everyone calls this bird Phoebe it isn't the same bird as before.
She is beautiful and I hope she has many babies for us all to enjoy. It's such a delight to watch these little birds.

[The Backlash Cometh]

41. It is one of the more calming moments of my day.

As for the tired little bird that lost its eggs...I like to imagine that the cam host realized the bird was having the clutches too close together so she shut the cam off long enough to take the eggs from the nest to hatch in an incubator to give the poor bird a rest.

[Catshrink]

42. You're right. I just asked the "owner" of the rosebush

who is on the Phoebe chat. He confirmed that it's a different bird. He said he'd like to think this is one of Phoebe's offspring but has no way of knowing.

I thought it was the same bird. Fail.

[lamp_shade]

12. Oh I've been watching.

[Webster Green]

15. Cool...she's got chicks!

I thought she was too old to reproduce anymore.

I remember the Godzilla attack a while back when she had two failed eggs.

Yay! :applause:

[janx]

I had forgotten about this!

Thanks for the reminder. I believe the female black-chinned hummingbirds have arrived here are are no doubt starting to build their nests (they breed here). I usually have at least one nest, but I don't have a video camera.

Phoebe is gorgeous!

[EFerrari]

17. That nest looks more sturdy than the walls of this house are.

Looks like it's just about Happy Hour, too. :)

[Catshrink]

18. I love to watch the feedings!

[Judi Lynn]

19. Wow. Have never seen baby hummers. Enchanting. Thank you. n/t

[KittyWampus]

20. Thanks, so glad this batch are growing.

[Catshrink]

21. They're growing FAST!

Someone on the chat said they'd be fledglings in 3-4 weeks. I think that means they'll be starting to fly. I'm learning a lot about birds through this webcam.

[NoPasaran]

22. They sure are!

That little nest is getting crowded.

[onehandle]

24. What will be exciting is to see them take off --->

[The Wielding Truth]

25. Thanks for the link. Fascinating.

[Mojeoux]

26. Oh thank you so much!

I have shared this with my family.
It IS relaxing.

[DesertRat]

27. Thank you for this link!

We have many year round hummers in our yard but have never had the privilege of peering into a nest. :hi:

[Catshrink]

28. We have them too.

They love my honeysuckle hedge and my neighbor's aloe. I'm always a bit startled to see one and amazed at how close they come to my head. I should get out my binoculars and see if I can find a nest nearby.

I guess the hummers haven't heard about the AZ boycott.

[DesertRat]

30. We have many migrating hummers at our cabin

in Pinetop in the summer. My favorite are the Rufous. They are a beautiful shimmery orange color. They are small and very territorial, chasing all of the other hummers away from the feeders. They always show up around the 4th of July. The Native Americans said that the Rufous' rode in on the monsoons.

Thankfully they haven't heard about a boycott. :)

[janx]

32. Rufous: very pugnacious!

They pass through New Mexico in late July and August.

[The Straight Story]

29. hummers are bad for the earth. Kill em up good and make some hummer stew

:evilgrin:

[sharp_stick]

31. It's hard to get 50 to 75

birds though and you need at least 50 of those bony little suckers to make a decent stew.

[Touchdown]

33. I thought you meant Bikini Babes and SUVs.

:rofl:

[The Straight Story]

34. that's a hummer I would not mind getting

:hide:

[cowman]

35. At the station house I'm assigned to

a baby sparrow fell from her nest and mama wouldn't have anything more to do with her, she was about 4 days old, so I picked her up and took her home where my wife nursed her back to health. We were going to release her back to the wild but she ended up imprinting on my wife and now they are best friends. She has her own room with a cage that she comes and goes at her leisure. I got a lot of ribbing from my fellow Firefighters when I brought pics of her.

[Catshrink]

38. That's a sweet story

You've been adopted.

[janx]

36. This is so peaceful and sweet; thank you! The hummingbirds

in other instances are fairly crazy and territorial, but thanks for the peaceful nest scene.

[Catshrink]

37. Glad you're enjoying it

One of them is a week old today, the other will be tomorrow.

[CrispyQ]

43. Thanks for the link!

A nest the size of a golf ball! Eggs the size of peas! Amazing!!

Here's another fascinating nesting bird journal.

http://www.i-pets.com/rpet19.html

[CrispyQ]

44. I just saw her fly back to the nest & feed the babies.

It was so frickin' cool!!

[Catshrink]

45. Did you have the sound on?

When she flies in, you hear a whirring zooming sound. I hear it when they fly up next to me and hover.

[CrispyQ]

47. I turned them on & caught it the next time she flew in.

This is so cool. I can barely tear myself away.

[elleng]

46. ABC news story, yesterday!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGH-NknY0cc