Well, I wasn't sure we'd see the juvenile Anna's Hummingbirds (Calypte anna) again, but we were in the area this afternoon and started to hear the begging call. Eric was able to locate one of the fledglings as mom flew in for a feeding (above). The juveniles have been out of the nest for 4-5 days now, but apparently the mother keeps feeding them for 1-2 weeks after they leave the nest.
I watched the fledgling for a little while. Fun to see the juvenile probing some leaves/buds while sitting on a branch. I had been wondering how they start to feed on flowers and this view provided a clue:
And also fun to see the juvenile take short flights. Here's a takeoff and a landing:
Thanks to Eric's sharp eyes, we also observed something today that surprised me at first. The female already has a second nest in progress, in the same tree!
It sounds like two broods per season are typical in Anna's Hummingbirds, but I didn't know she would start again so soon...or while she was still feeding the fledglings from the first nest. The Birds of the World species account reports several records of this, with females feeding young that are 3-5 days out of the nest while also incubating a second clutch of eggs.
Here's mom on the new nest (below). I don't know if she's incubating yet. It looked like she was still gathering nest material (including from the original nest), but she was also spending quite a bit of time on the nest:
Time will tell how the second nest attempt turns out! If it's successful, fledging could occur in late April/early May.
Fascinating! I would have never known that Anna's had two broods per season. Thanks for your continued investigation.
ReplyDeleteHi, Bill!
ReplyDeleteAlso intriguing -- the species account says that 3rd or 4th broods are "probable," but it sounds like it might not have been documented before?
It would probably hard to follow the same individual female for that long. Although if you can observe her feeding the fledglings and building a new nest, that would be one way to do it.
We'll see what happens with this female!
Jackie
Anna's are amazing. We are SO spoiled to have the abundance of them that we do. There is an episode of BBC's Attenbrough work that features By Area Anna's- and the classic courting dance which involves sound made by tail feathers of the male when he reaches the bottom of a 60 mph dive. They have so many voices, including tragic opera death songs when they faint from stress.
ReplyDeleteAt times, I'm grateful that they aren't larger than they are- they challenge me, like, get right up in my face on my own back porch if I'm there when they want to feed on the fuchsia's I keep for them. Jackie, thank you for following these astonishing beings.