~ baby hummingbirds - day 10-16 ~

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Once again, a huge thank you to my dad, Richard T. Jones,

for taking - and allowing me to use - all the photographs in this post!  

Day 10

Day 11
My dad observed some strange whistling-whining noises from the babies.

He said it sounded like an old-school camera flash whine.

Day 12
I see the lower baby has an eye open!  

Day 13
Beaks are rapidly developing now.

Day 13

Day 14

Day 14

Day 14

Day 14

Looking smug.  

Day 15

Still pin feathers, but look at those eyelashes!

Day 15

Day 15

Day 15

Day 15

Day 15

Day 16

My dad says that the nest is amazing.

It is flexible and he says it flexes with their breathing,

appearing to inflate and deflate.

Day 16

Day 16

Day 16

Day 16

Day 16

Hummingbird twins....did you know that hummingbirds almost always lay two eggs?

Apparently it is the optimum number, one or three is very rare.

~ 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~