Even though I have many hummingbirds of several species, both males and females, hanging out in my yard, I haven’t found any nests. They must be around here somewhere with all my trees and bushes, but I’ve never found one. It’s been a disappointment in my life. Until a visit to a friend’s house.
I try not to be jealous of others, but I must confess I am really jealous of my friends, Michael and Anthony. My friends invited me over to their house for a pool party. I was enjoying a tasty repast after an invigorating swim in their newly refurbished pool when I was told to look up. Above me, on the string of lights was a hummingbird nest with hummingbirds in it!
Those pointy things sticking out toward the top are the tiny little bird bills.
This nest reminded me of the one in my books about the black-chinned hummingbird: The Hummingbird of El Conquistador (English and English/Spanish versions). My guess is this is a black-chinned hummingbird nest, Archilochus alexandri.
I was curious if I could identify the hummingbird species by the nest design and construction materials. I did a little research, of course. My hypothesis was that the species could be identified by the location and nest materials. This is what I learned.
The nest size is determined by the size of the hummingbird. Locations vary as well as construction materials. The nests need to be soft, after all the chicks are delicate. However, hummingbird nests also need to be flexible. They change shape as the chicks grow. Twigs and plant pieces are the starting point. The components of the nest are anchored and held together with spider silk.
Most of the information about hummingbird nests I found was provided by Hal Harrison, an expert in bird nests.
Anna’s hummingbirds (Calypte anna) are minimalists. They lay eggs on a nest platform and then build the nest up while incubating.
Black-chinned hummingbirds (Archilochus alexandri) prefer deep cups to keep their eggs safe. In addition, they build nests in areas near larger birds’ nests, or as in the case of my friend’s house, near activities that reduce predation.
If Tucson was in the mountains, I would wonder if the nest on the wire was a blue-throated hummingbird (Lampornis clemenciae). Blue-throated hummingbirds live in the mountains. They return to the previous year’s nest and build a new one on top, creating a tower of nests.
Broad-billed hummingbirds (Cynanthus latirostris) are distinguishable due to the use of grass fibers to construct their nests on thin branches.
Several years ago, I was delighted to find a calliope hummingbird (Selasphorus calliope) visiting one of my feeders. They prefer to reuse nests constructed on the top of pine cones. Females can get in trouble when they steal nest materials from other birds!
Costa’s hummingbirds (Calypte costae) utilize the protection that the spines offer by building on top of the cacti. Preferred sites may attract several females who nest in a colony.
This information I discovered seems to indicate that the nests are sufficiently different and can be used to identify the species. Now, I just have to look intently to find the nest, so that I can identify the mother’s species.
My friends were privileged to see the black-chinned chicks fledge and fly away. But one of them returns to sit on the next. She doesn’t stay very long, visiting the home nest for a few minutes before flying off again. Then again, that may be the mother returning to the nest to start her next brood. They can raise up to 3 broods of chicks each year between April to September.
With these photos taken by a friend, I am pretty confident that this is a black-chinned hummingbird’s nest with the female black-chinned hummingbird in it.
Another interesting item I read was that you should not touch hummingbird nests. In the United States, it is illegal to touch, relocate, or remove an active nest. So, now you know!
Get outside and start looking up. Happy Hummingbird Nest Hunting! If you are a bird person check out the rest of our “bird” books.
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