Flora’s second summer
(Click on any image to view at full size)
No, you did not miss her first summer. I just didn’t write about it.
So, just who is Flora? She’s the adorable little Broad-Tailed Hummingbird who has taken up residence in my backyard this summer – and last. And maybe even before that but I never noticed her until last June when my neighbor pointed out to me that there was a hummingbird nest in my yard “nestled” (aha, I see where that word comes from!) deep in a large coniferous tree. He only noticed it because he happens to live and work in his driveway which abuts the tree (you read that right – it’s a long story).
Image above - This is Flora, a female Broad-Tailed Hummingbird, hovering at her favorite flower in my yard
I follow Audubon Society guidelines on photographing birds’ nests, so I kept my distance. That was when I first discovered Flora and I marveled at her diligence in constructing a nest that looked no bigger than a cup in a child’s make-believe tea set.
Image above - Flora sitting in nest
Image above - Flora, like all hummingbirds, uses spider web “silk” to reinforce the strength of her nest
Flora seemingly spent hours in the nest laying and then incubating her eggs. She occasionally ventured out of the nest for nourishment and nesting materials.
Images above - Flora went wild for a Wild Bergamot plant in the yard one day and finds nectar in each photo
Image above - Flora leaves the hummingbird feeder after a good meal
Within a couple weeks I noticed she no longer returned to it. I waited a week to make certain that she had abandoned it before finally looking in it. I was dismayed to discover a tiny chick that hadn’t made it as well as an unhatched egg. I had observed Flora hovering for long periods of time near the tree with the nest and only later realized she was likely grieving her loss.
I occasionally could see Flora flittering in the yard partaking of flower and feeder nectar but her purpose that summer had ended, and she left for warmer climes in early September.
In May of this year I began to look and hope for Flora’s return. Hummingbirds, like many bird species, will return to the same nest or the same tree to try another round of eggs. All of May went by and then almost all of June with no sight of her. Then one day I observed a hummingbird hovering right next to the same tree that housed last year’s nest. I followed it into the dense branches - right to a fully constructed nest one branch away from last year’s nest! It was indeed Flora and she had returned! I wondered how long the nest had been there. It was much later in the summer by now so was she ready to lay her eggs or had she just started the process?
Image above - Flora’s new nest this year
I checked the nest every day, often several times a day. There was no angle to give me a clear visual while maintaining a decent distance to keep her stress-free. I had to rely on an unreliable breeze to blow impeding branches out of the way. Sometimes that happened. And a lot of times it didn’t.
Day after day passed with no changes to her routine of sitting in the nest most of the day and all night. It was now late July and I was already seeing tons of photos on social media of baby chicks fledging their nests yet “my” babies hadn’t even hatched! But Flora wouldn’t abandon the nest, so neither would I.
Image above - Several times a year Flora gets her favorite flower stuck on her beak. It’s hilarious to watch her eventually get it off!
During this time I noticed a male hummingbird making regular appearances in the yard. Males make a much sharper and louder noise than their female counterparts. Also, the male Broad-Tailed Hummingbird has a distinct red (when the light hits it just right) “soul patch” under its chin that makes it easy to differentiate from the female. I know that male hummingbirds can be notoriously territorial and this guy may have been staking a future claim to newfound land but the romantic in me wants to think he was courting Flora or – gasp! – maybe he was the dad returning to check on his potential offspring. Unlike raptors, male hummingbirds are not active in raising a young family, though.
Images above - All images above are of a male Broad-Tailed Hummingbird on a branch in various poses
I had given up hope of seeing baby chicks this summer when one day I saw an odd “stick” jutting up from the nest. Odd in that it occasionally moved on its own. A day or two later I was able to detect a second “stick”, also moving.
Image above - “Sticks” in a nest, aka baby chicks’ beaks
I began to notice Flora making more trips out of the nest now, hunting for nectar for herself and insects for the “sticks”, which by now I had positively identified as the beaks of two babies! I joyously took long lens (700mm) near the tree where I waited for a breeze to blow the branches aside just enough for a clear shot of Flora feeding her babies.
Images above - Flora feeding her baby chicks in the nest
I wish I had more to show you but one week after first spotting a sign of life, I then spotted its end. One of the babies had perished in the nest and 24 hours later the other one had, too. I was crushed, selfishly for missed photo opportunities and empathetically for Flora, who seemed to have done everything right despite overwhelming odds. During that incubation time, she had to endure the outskirts of a rare tornado here and at least half a dozen violent hailstorms.
I also noticed that for 24 hours after, Flora continued to sit in the nest as if she was not ready to let them go yet. I observed another female hummingbird hovering right by the nest alongside Flora as if she were paying her respects to the grieving mother. When I researched this I was surprised to read that this was exactly what was happening and a unique way that hummingbirds grieve the loss of baby chicks which is all too common. There is a 60-80% mortality rate (not survival rate) of new hummingbird chicks. Although predators can be a cause, I doubt that was the case here although obviously I don’t know the cause of their deaths (insect bites? inherent physical problems?).
Flora is still in my yard but not for long. Hummingbirds begin leaving Colorado in droves right after Labor Day, which we are only days away from now. I’ll miss her. I’m hoping she (and that male suitor) return next year and then you can read about “Flora’s Third Summer”, including a happier ending.
Image above - Flora contemplates the bird bath. This is one of my last pictures of her this year.