"I hope you love birds too. It is economical. It saves going to heaven."
Emily Dickinson

Friday, November 21, 2014

Hummingbird nesting season starts early in Southern California

Find nesting material at local nature stores.

It may seem like the wrong time of year, but hummingbirds have begun nesting in Southern California. Here hummingbird nesting season runs late October through early June.

Female hummingbirds build the nest, sit on the eggs and care for the chicks without assistance from the male. And this hard-working mother has four or five clutches a season.  She typically lays two eggs per clutch, though not all eggs are viable and many chicks do not survive.  The eggs hatch within 16-18 days.  The babies fledge approximately 21-28 days from the date of hatching.

Please comment if you've already seen a nest this season.
Happy Birding!
J.J.

8 comments:

  1. Hi Jennifer. I am a volunteer for an HOA and we are having to trim trees in the common areas and also asking homeowners to do the same in their private yards. My question is on timing. When is the best time to ask homeowners to do this that is the least likely time to infringe on hummingbirds nests?

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  2. 5/7/19 Just happened today. I cut down a Eucalyptus branch and a nest was in it. I could see from the side, layers were built one upon the other . It had been used several times. There were 2 little broken eggs on the ground :(.
    I won't be cutting any more branches until August.

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  3. Hi Jennifer Iive in north long beach area and i currently have a female sitting on her clutch in a nest in my open covered patio. This nest has been renovated and reused about 8 times. I tailor any outdoor activity near the nest around her leaving the nest. The forage period is usually about 15 minutes. The nesting period of the hummingbird is a joy to watch!

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  4. Hi I have came a cross a hummingbird nest. it had two eggs in it.
    It was quite exciting. Southern California.

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  5. We had a hummingbird build a nest on one of our wind chimes in early June. The babies hatched and were 10 days old when a crow swept them out of their nest. Momma hummingbird was so upset when she returned and they were gone. If you ever see a nest that looks like it is in a vulnerable area move it not far away to a safe place. We have since moved the wind chime along with the empty next a couple of feet further under the eaves of our porch. We are hoping that a hummingbird will re-use the nest and produce some more babies in the future.

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  6. Just spotted a nest in my lemon tree very close to my back porch. The hummingbird was adding a ring of green bits of outdoor carpeting to the top of the nest. 11-17-21

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  7. Found a nest in our avacado tree in Garden Grove CA. Watched mama gather spider webs. Nest went from green to brown in a few weeks...anyone know why? Mama is still flying in and out of tree.

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