Fork - tailed Woodnymph # 3

Hummingbirds are a joy to watch. During the daytime they use a lot of energy and to keep their little motor running, they need a lot of energetic fuel (nectar and sugar water) No wonder that hummingbirds are amongst my favorites. They are small, energetic and colorful. Can you imagine a hummingbird hatchling? How tiny can that be. That is why I was so excited with the Fork - tailed Woodnymphs' nesting. Because every day brought me closer to the answer of one important question: When are the eggs going to hatch? 

In my previous posts I had already written about 6 days of observing the Fork - tailed Woodnymphs' nest. In this post is about day 7, day 8 and day 9.


On the seventh day, June 21, exactly a week after the 'discovery', I've noticed some small changes. She first stops for a drink at the feeder before going into her nest. On this day she started to fix her nest from the outside, this by bringing small pieces of bark. I've seen her using her own saliva to let it stick on the outside of her nest. This 'sticky' performance went on for quite a while.

She was busy fixing her nest from the outside.

On the eight day of observing her nest, June 22, she stayed most of the time in her nest. That day was a rainy and windy day so she was forced to stay in her nest to protect her eggs. I changed the sugar water with fresh one and it was immediately noticed by the other hummingbirds. Both the male Fork - tailed Woodnymph and the Grey - breasted Sabrewings were drinking very often. They were also busy chasing each other far away from the feeder, but without any success.
The Female didn't mind it at all, because she was busy the whole day protecting her eggs.

On the ninth day, June 23, she was collecting more nest material. With all that rain and wind she had to endure the day before, she wanted to make sure that her nest was strong and stable. So I saw a lot of wiggling that day. Quite a show: it looked like she was having fun and did a little dance.

To be continued .....