~ baby hummingbirds - day 4-9

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More baby hummingbirds!  

Here they are again, with a quarter for comparison, on Day 3.

(photo courtesy of Richard T. Jones)

Day 4

(photo courtesy of Richard T. Jones)

Day 6

(photo courtesy of Richard T. Jones)

Day 8

See that little beak poking up?

(photo courtesy of Richard T. Jones)

Day 8

Pin feathers are starting to emerge

(photo courtesy of Richard T. Jones)

Day 9

It's getting crowded in there!

(photo courtesy of Richard T. Jones)

On 9th day, there was a terrible storm at my parents' home.

My dad stood on the screen porch, watching the nest through binoculars.

The mother hummingbird swooped in, 

settled on the nest and fanned her wings out over her babies.

She sat there, protecting them, through the storm,

with her long, slender bill pointed straight to the sky.

Day 10

Look closely and you'll see these sweet twins with their beaks crossed.

Their pin feathers are starting to poke through on their heads now.

(photo courtesy of Richard T. Jones)

The growth rate of these tiniest of birds is astounding.

Their devoted mother sure is taking good care of them.  

My dad says that when he climbs the ladder to take the daily picture,

the babies don't move or make a single sound.

Tomorrow I'll finish posting the last of the pictures, 

and then from there I'll be caught up!

~carrie~

~ baby hummingbirds - day 1-3 ~

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Yesterday I shared pictures of the hummingbird nest 

we found on our trip to Virginia.

These eggs are the size of cooked pinto beans.

Today I'm sharing pictures that my dad took

on their first 3 days out of their eggs, 

where they had spent the previous 18 days.

Remember that the inside circumference of the nest is about the size of a quarter.

Hatching Day!

See the eggshell still in their nest?
Whew, they must have been cramped in there,
and I'll bet their glad to have some wiggle room.

In this first one, they are about the size of a small butterbean!

(photo courtesy of Richard T. Jones)

two days old!

(photo courtesy of Richard T. Jones)

three days old!

(photo courtesy of Richard T. Jones)

Isn't it amazing how quickly they have grown in just three short days?

The mother ruby-throated hummingbird feeds them regurgitated nectar and insects.

The daddy hummingbird, unlike many other bird species, is not involved whatsoever.

Tomorrow I'll share a few more pictures of the baby hummingbirds, 

until I catch up to them in 'real-time.'

Today they are 13 days old.  

~carrie~

~ a rare find ~

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The weekend we went to Virginia for my cousin's graduation,

I found a very special and rare treasure.

Saturday evening we were coming home late

from dropping off the girls' grandmother

and the Daddy heard a hummingbird 

give a little twitter and fly away.

"She must have a nest nearby," he said as we walked in the house.

The next day I went looking for her nest, 

and sure enough I found it,

only about 8 feet off the ground

in an oak tree right next the the porch.

Can you find it in the picture above?

It was so beautiful, so sweet,

made of bits of lichen and cobwebs.

For size reference, I am holding my phone.  

The inside circumference is the size of a quarter.

Ruby-throated hummingbirds 

(the only hummingbird to regularly visit east of the Mississippi River)

almost always lay two eggs.

"The twins," my dad calls them.

They were about the size of a cooked pinto bean,

and a beautiful creamy white.

My dad has been documenting their development daily,

and has given me permission to share his photographs.

Check back tomorrow for pictures of newly hatched hummers!

(They are now 12 days old!)

~carrie~