Date: 08/22/2012

Number: 5

This is a family Mom,Dad and 3 new babies. The parents have been with me all summer, they nested in the tree on the West side of my home. About four weeks ago the three little ones were out and about getting their flying lessons.They really have become like family.Even though my neighbors on both sides of me also have feeders,this little family are here all day.They play around the feeder, it was sweet watching the parents traning them, yesterday and today the have let the three little ones come to the feeder without them,but they are only about 20' away watching from the closest tree, I've watched when the Mommie bird comes with them Dad is patrolling flying back and forth checking for danger. They have really behaved like the very proud parents they really are. Yesterday, one of the babies was perched while at the feeder here comes Dad, I believe it happened so quickly, the parent came up behind the baby and with his beak grabbed his little Hummer at the back of his neck, picked him up out of the way so he could eat. It wasn't a mean jester, it really looked like playing,a blink of am eye, I was so surprised, then I laughed it was so cute. They first arrive every morning about 5:30am twenty to 30 minutes they play and eat they leave for about one hr, come back for a quick shot, from then on the rest of the day is spent with the parents training and teaching their little ones,they are back and forth all day long two many times to keep count then between 4 & 4:30pm shool time away must be over and play time it is until 7:30/8:00pm this week anyway. They must be getting ready to migrate they are making sure the babies are always eating I know the all look really healthy. I am going to really miss them all 3 months or long


JOURNEY NORTH COMMENT: Because the majority of hummingbirds only produce 2 eggs, photographic confirmation would be valuable and exciting. As birds start migrating, we get a mixture of our resident birds and birds passing through, and fledglings don't remain with their mothers for long, so without bands we can never be 100 percent certain who's who.

Yreka, CA

Latitude: 41.8 Longitude: -122.7

Observed by: Christina C.
Contact Observer

The observer's e-mail address will not be disclosed.
Contact will be made through a web-based form.