Today I write the final chapter on the baby Hummingbirds.
Late yesterday afternoon I noticed the bigger of the babies was out of the nest and perching on the edge of the patio on the railing. I ran to get my camera but it was gone by the time I returned. The eggs did not hatch the same day so the remaining baby was a bit younger. The smaller one was still in the nest. As I watched, Mom flew to the remaining baby and kind of bumped its mouth but would not feed it. She then went around behind it and started poking it in the rear over and over. It was hilarious!
That caused the baby to rise up in the nest and start flapping its wings violently but it refused to leave the nest. Mom returned several times, no longer poking it but flying around the mouth area and refusing to feed the baby whose tongue kept coming out. When we went to bed the baby was still in the nest.
This morning when we got up the baby was sitting on the one rung above the nest. Mom was still around but would not feed it. She would fly back and forth trying to get the little one to fly. Mean while the 'drama queen' as I started calling her just kept cleaning herself over and over. I had other things to do and when I returned she had gotten herself to the top rung of the mobile. Finally around 9:00 when I checked again she was gone! Sorry I missed the take off but glad they both finally entered the new world in the garden.
