Miniature home

Compared to the average home, my 29' house on wheels is puny.  Everything is relative, however.  This morning I went out to check on the miniature home of the most diminutive of my avian friends in Texas.  Under threatening skies, I drove over to the Russel tract, about 20 miles from here.

I knew there were two hummingbird nests in one of the live oak trees on the tract.

The first nest is just above center in the picture.  I was standing about 15' away from the tree and using my telephoto for this shot.

I stepped closer for this shot, but you can see that if you're just walking along, this nest would be hard to detect.

Now that's what I call natural camouflage!   Double click on this picture and you can really appreciate the workmanship of this nest.

This nest was located just above my eye level at a little over 5'.  My thumb, in the background, will give you some perspective as to it's size.  It's about 1.5" in diameter.  How's that for a miniature home?  The inside is lined with very fine grasses.  The outside is constructed of lichen and mosses and held together with cobwebs.  I believe this nest was used last year, as it is a little squashed down and weathered.

I really came here to check on the second nest in the same tree.  We saw a female hummingbird bringing nesting materials to it a week and a half ago.  I was hoping that she hadn't abandoned the nest because of the disturbance of a dozen people milling around the area.

I spotted the second nest, but didn't see any female around.  :(  After a few minutes I decided to move closer and check it out. Notice that this nest is taller looking than the old nest.  It is located about six feet above the ground.  I reached above my head and put my finger inside the nest.  It was much deeper than the old nest, and snugly fit around my finger like a glove.  I was thrilled to feel two tiny eggs with my fingertip!  :)

After that confirmation that it is an active nest, I quickly moved away.  In a few minutes the female returned, but was wary of getting back on the nest to incubate the eggs, so I gratefully left the area and headed back to the vehicle.  Never in my life did I think I would get to feel live hummingbird eggs.  Cool jelly beans!!!  And I didn't even have that on my "Bucket List."

What a hoot life is!

Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later,  Judy