Our New Resident Hummingbird Momma

Hitch caught scoping out the garden for snacks....

Today we witnessed a little miracle of mother nature right in our backyard. How many people can say they have actually seen a hummingbird's nest? 

So this morning we all head out to the backyard with coffee and breakfast to enjoy the cool morning before the desert sun bakes us alive... Now that summer is almost upon us we have had to change up our schedule and start taking the dogs out for a morning hike and late evening hike. The middle of the day is siesta time...

Maters almost ready for my salad bowl... Yum. Yum

Princess Hampton has her very own vintage military cot set up to bask in the morning rays while Hitch the hound likes to sprawl out on the warm stones... Matt and I have to step over them with the hose to water all the plants... We try to water the garden every morning so they don't fry from the afternoon sun.
The veggis are really coming along. Any day now my first tomato will be ripe for the plucking and behind him are at least another 8 more...   Our poor corn is totally stunted though. It's about 3 feet high and has already developed the corn stalk.... I don't think it's gonna get much taller... We must have bought some kind of  desert, midget variety....  I am gonna try some fertilizer or cow manure and see if that helps at all.

Lantana for the hummingbirds

With all of our plants in full bloom now the hummingbirds have taken a real liking to our yard. We also have two feeders for them so they have lots of snacks to choose from.
 For the last month or so we have had this one female hummingbird that has been obsessed with our balcony's. She is always hovering around the windows and investigating every nook and cranny. I thought she might be looking for a nesting spot. Almost every morning that I go up to the third floor to make coffee I see her on the balcony hovering around....

Well, yesterday Matt was telling me how the hummingbirds were going crazy over our Chaste tree out front. So this morning while we were watering the plants, sure enough, there go the hummers in an aerial dog fight over our heads right to the Chaste tree. They were so fussy I stopped watering long enough to watch them. They did their little dance over our Chaste tree and one hummingbird went zipping off down the road while the other disappears into the tree. I looked a little harder and could swear I see her sitting down... So I run inside and grab my new camera with the zoom lens and take a peek. Sure enough there is my little hummingbird sitting in her nest!

I was so excited I couldn't even speak... Matt's just staring at me like what kind of crazy are you up to now....
 I told him you have to see this for yourself.... We were both just amazed at this delicate little bird sitting in her tiny nest. They are such little miracles!

Judging by her size I think it's a female black-chinned hummingbird. She has definitely already laid her eggs because she only leaves the nest for a quick sip of juice from the feeder or if another hummingbird is too close.  thankfully she is used to us and lets me get close enough for a good picture. When she comes over to the feeder she will even buzz up to you and hover for a few seconds and then zip back to her nest.

The nest is amazingly small and woven as tightly as a basket. She used fine organic materials and managed to weave them into this tightly constructed cup. They even use spider webs to bind it all together. They are really a beautiful piece of work.




She should have two small pea size eggs in her nest and in about two weeks or less they will hatch. I am not sure exactly how long she has been there so I will check on her every day to keep tabs... Before you know it little baby hummers will be cheeping from her nest and she will be zipping around like crazy trying to feed them. I can't wait to see her babies!