A Little Surprise - Hummingbird Nest

This morning  I was trying to finish up some projects in the yard before more rain moves in for the the next three days when I noticed a little Hummingbird busily flying to one particular tree.

I stopped and went inside to get the camera to see if I could follow what she was doing.  What a nice little surprise!  She was building a nest!  This is the first time I have ever seen one in the process of nest building and was a bit mesmerized watching.  Looking closely at the nest material I see bits of lichen and catkins from the oak trees.



I had to do a little bit of reading to find some information about their nesting behavior.  Nests take appx. 6-10 days to build and measure about 2 inches across and 1 inch deep.  Average clutch size is 1-3 eggs.  It is hard to imagine how tiny the babies must be.









I saw the first Hummingbirds here this year on either 13 or 14 April.  Looking at the nest she must have started building not long after her arrival.  As I watched her today she brought in a few things and would work them into the nest.  She would then sit in the nest and appeared to vibrate as if to pack the nesting material down.  I watched her do this several times so I don't think she has laid any eggs yet.

This will definitely be something fun to watch this year.  The lighting is a bit difficult and today the wind was really blowing the branches so I hope as the sun gets a little higher in angle the light will get better and sooner or later....the wind has to quite blowing.