READER REPORT: Watch for hummingbird nests

| West Seattle news | Wildlife

Tom Trulin sent that photo of a nesting hummingbird, a perfect illustration for this reminder we received from Suzanne Krom: When you’re out doing yard work (or if you don’t have a yard, if you’re out helping or volunteering in greenspaces), watch carefully to be sure you don’t unintentionally disturb one of these nests:

Hummingbirds nesting now … be super aware if you’re pruning

These tiny nests are so easy to miss! They are only 1.5 inches in diameter.

Before pruning and without touching the branches of a tree or shrub (or minimally touching, at most), carefully look for nests. They’re usually somewhat obscured by leaves. Their placement will probably be at the intersection of a stem and an anchoring branch.
allaboutbirds.org/guide/Annas_Hummingbird/lifehistory

If you see a nest, leave the birds alone to let them raise their young in peace. Disturbing an active nest often results in the adults abandoning the eggs/young. Let them be. A bird’s greatest secret is the location of their nest.

It’s up to each of us to respect that secret. Life is hard enough for them without us interfering in their lives.

The perfect nest in the photo was in our Tall Oregon Grape last year, located about 4 feet off the ground. The pair of Anna’s hummingbirds that frequent our yard used it twice to successfully raise their young. I moved it into our home at the end of October, when I knew their nesting season was complete.

karen March 12, 2023 (6:23 pm)

thanks for the heads up! And the picture!

Joseph in West Seattle March 13, 2023 (3:25 pm)

My hummingbird(s) have been coming to feed all winter long – however, when it turned “freezing” a few weeks ago – they “disappeared”. Their water froze overnight, but we put new, warmer water/food in their feeder each morning. I hope they didn’t freeze in the temps – & just migrated somewhere. Any clues? Thanks!

Friend O'Dinghus March 14, 2023 (5:46 pm)

Hi Joseph. The ladies here in the south end of our peninsula are on their nests currently incubating their eggs. That process is approx. two weeks long and means they are on their nests and relying mostly on the nectar source closest to their chosen home for ‘swoop in’ meals. After the eggs hatch, they will be off the nest much more frequently as they gather food (both protein and nectar) for the little ‘uns. It takes approx. 3 weeks for the newborns to fledge. I am anticipating roughly mid-April before I see the teensy ones. I hope this puts your mind at ease a bit about your charm’s well being. Thank you for rotating your feeders each dawn for your wards. They choose whom to trust for their sustenance and it sounds like it is well placed in you. Cheers!

Suzanne March 15, 2023 (12:21 am)

I’ll add to Friend O’Dinghus’ excellent post — After the young have fledged in mid-April, the parents will lay a second clutch. In our yard they often use the same nest again, although not always.

When I was in my garden yesterday, a female Anna’s flew within a few feet of me and hovered, letting me know I was close to her nest. I backed away ~5 feet and she swooped down to a nearby container filled with last year’s asters that have gone to seed and are now white fluff. She grabbed a beakful of the fluff and flew up to the center of my arbutus/strawberry tree, where she has a nest. That fluff is perfect for lining her nest.

For important tips on how to provide nesting materials for the birds in your yard, this is an excellent resource — https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/providing-nest-material-for-birds-dos-donts/ (–includes the tip to NOT use dryer lint)

Suzanne March 15, 2023 (1:23 am)

…. The second clutch will start a month or two after the first chicks have fledged (left the nest), so around late May or June. This second nest will also take 5 weeks from when the first egg is laid through to the chicks being fully fledged and not returning to the nest at night.

If a nest fails the birds will often try again so this schedule could extend into late summer.

If you see an empty hummingbird nest, please leave it until October when the nesting season is complete. After that, if you’d like to take it inside, you can without affecting the hummingbirds.

The nests are extraordinary works of art. From All About Birds (Cornell Lab of Ornithology): “The female builds the nest out of plant down and spider webs, sitting in the nest and building the cup rim up around her. Nests take around a week to build and are 1 inch tall by 1.5 inches in diameter. They may be built of cattail, willow, leaves, thistle, or small feathers and bound together by spider webs or insect cocoons. They may decorate the outside with lichens, mosses, or even paint chips. They sometimes steal these from other active nests.” https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Annas_Hummingbird/lifehistory 

Every successful nest feels like a miracle to me. The cup-nesting birds are particularly vulnerable to predators from all directions, as well as wind, rain, snow, sleet, and ice. It requires every scrap of energy and a good dose of luck for the parents to successfully support their chicks to survive and become fully independent.

waikikigirl March 15, 2023 (7:15 am)

@Suzanne/Friend O’ Dinghus, We have hummers all year long, just brought the 2 feeders in last night and thoroughly washed them and took them back out just now.How high up in a tree do they build a nest, would they build in an Arborvitae (sp) our neighbors have a line of these and I’ve always wondered? I WANT A NEST close by to watch!!! :>)

Friend O'Dinghus March 15, 2023 (3:48 pm)

Hi Waikikigirl! I am not sure about Arborvitae specifically. I do know they seem to love the Douglas Fir in my yard, and the nearby Laurel hedge provides them endless opportunities for both nesting and also shorter term shelter from predators and the weather. In fact, I for the first time recently saw a little Anna’s bathing in the tiny puddles on the upturned Laurel leaves. It went leaf to leaf jumping in the puddle and flinging it all over. I will say that they always seem to look for a specific configuration for their nest’s support. Two to three small horizontal or gently upturned stems is the superstructure they like to build upon. Imagine the support structure under the main level of the Space Needle for an idea of what I am referring too. They look for a spot to build that offers undergirding. I have even seen them build on two strings pulled tightly and forming an ‘X’ under the eaves of a home. They usually will be 5-20 feet off the ground and the females seem to enjoy having a direct line-of-sight to their feeder of choice while nesting. I bet Suzanne will have some even better tips for you and I am looking forward to learning from them too.

waikikigirl March 15, 2023 (5:07 pm)

Thank you for replying back!I guess I’ll just have to scope out our neighbors trees to see if I see any nests, our trees that have the type of branching you mentioned are tall, very tall …time for the binoculars to come out!Our Hummers luv our fountain even when it’s green and slimy! YUK.

Suzanne March 15, 2023 (10:19 pm)

WAIKIKIGIRL / FRIEND O’DINGHUSIt’s far less invasive to find videos of the hummingbirds nesting activities. Other species, particularly crows and other corvids, always watching to see where we are focusing our attention. It alerts them to prey opportunities. Also, our spending more than a glancing second seeing a nest is invasive to the birds.

I mentioned that the location of a bird’s nest is their most important secret. It absolutely is. I’ve been studying bird behavior for more than 30 years, working with biologists and conservationists. This is delicate work. It’s imparative that we put the needs of the birds above our own wishes, respecting their need to be left alone. Life for them is extremely challenging. If they let down their guard even for a second at the wrong moment, their lives are snuffed out.

Your fountain needs to be thoroughly cleaned so pathogens are less likely to spread. Here are some tips from National Audubon — https://www.audubon.org/news/why-you-should-keep-your-birdbath-clean .

I would suggest creating a 50-50 ratio of water to vinegar and let it sit overnight, covered with maybe a garbage lid (or anything that would keep animals from drinking it). Then rinse thoroughly and rinse again just to make sure. From then on, replace that water daily. Responsibly providing water and food for wild birds requires diligence.

We have four birdbaths and every day we take our lead-free hose and completely replace the water with a medium hard spray and then fill it with clean water.

In nature, water is constantly filtered through soil and other substrates. Our artificial birdbaths and fountains become contaminated and can quickly spread diseases. Hummingbird feeders require the same level of upkeep. As the days get warmer, the nectar quickly goes rancid and develops bacteria. Know that the hummingbirds you see are not dependent on it, fortunately. This time of year they really depend on plenty of protein for raising their young, and the nectar is becoming much more available in the flowers, which is far safer for them than a hummingbird feeder.

Bottom lines: Hands off. Don’t disturb the birds. Don’t alert predator birds (and other animals) to the location of a nest. Here are some videos that I hope you love!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVOZ8tXl5Nc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nygka9Up45w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sW2Dqx1ViQY

waikikigirl March 16, 2023 (2:46 pm)

No disrespect to your knowledge of birds but it was a figure of speech when I said “I’d scope out my neighbors trees” and even if I did find a nest I would stay away from it.In our defense of the pic of our fountain, that was back in the 90/100 degree weather Seattle was having and we were cleaning it when the Hummer flew up so I took a picture and our fountain has a holding pond for water, not easy to change daily and we installed it direct sunlight…our mistake for that but it is too big to move so we are constantly cleaning and changing the water.Thank you for your tips and scolding. :>(

Friend O'Dinghus March 16, 2023 (4:48 pm)

I too never approach any birds/nests other than with the help of my binoculars. I too have a bubbler which I do not sanitize daily. I do attach a flexible hose to the top of the bubbler and let it pump out all of the used water on to the grass, then I replenish the reservoir with clean tap water. I do this a few times per week; any time I observe the water in the bubbler is the least bit cloudy. Additionally, a few times each Summer I clean the stones that the water tumbles from, thusly I feel my bubbling fountain is sufficiently hygienic. I will totally try the 50/50 vinegar soak for my stones as I think that is a wonderful idea. PS Waikikigirl, I love your bubbling stone, and your photo from last summer inspired me to purchase my own. I have found it possibly the best investment of my life. I can see it from both my deck and my kitchen sink window. It provides me endless enjoyment as the Hummingbirds visit to flop around and grab a drink.

Suzanne March 16, 2023 (5:40 pm)

WAIKIKIGIRLDefinitely no scolding intended. Just awareness. Your fountain is fantastic. Did you get it at WS Nursery?

waikikigirl March 16, 2023 (7:55 pm)

We got it at Marenako’s (sp) in Issaquah. It’s granite and called blue huckleberry something they drill the hole and then we had to also buy water holding tank and pump… its a lot nicer looking when its clean. And thank you for all the information, made me more aware of what to do and don’t do! Love our Hummingbirds and all the birds that visit our yard.
FRIEND O’DINGHUS, You are welcome and it is fun watching the birds and the Bees enjoy the bubbling water isn’t it! And I luv your fountain, thats really COOL!

Steve March 17, 2023 (9:40 am)

Been feeding hummingbirds for nearly 30 years. Noticed in extremely cold weather the hummingbird activity goes down. That’s when the most dominant bird will feed. Perhaps the cold weather makes the birds expand their area. This year after the extremely cold weather, a pair of female Anna’s were fighting for over an hour at my feeder. Even knocked on the window to try and stop. Feeder has been dominated by females, until just recently. First time ever to see the feeder dominated by females. In the cold weather, couldn’t replace the feeder without having one come up to check me out. Before removing my hand from the just hung feeder, a bird lit and fed. Just try and stay as motionless as possible. Think animals, both of flight and not, watch each other as loose groups. The deer will watch the birds, then come into the yard when snow is on the ground as an example, less food available. While I wouldn’t harras or observe constantly while near a nest, working in your yard, pulling weeds trimming trees etc and spotting a nest might not be as tragic as some would think. Haven’t heard much about planting flowers the birds like, another option to competition at the feeder. Think all of us love our hummers.

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