8 Feb 2012 - Anna's Hummingbird Nest

I've been watching an Anna's Hummingbird nest in my RV park, just across the street from me. I first noticed the nest shortly after I got back from California, on the 17th of January. At first all I saw was the mother hummingbird sitting on the nest. She would sit on the nest for awhile, then leave briefly, then get back on the nest again, throughout the day.

Then on the 22nd of January, I noticed a difference in her behavior - before she got back on the nest she would stop at the side of the nest and feed two babies! [You can clearly see one baby's head in the photo on right if you enlarge it - click on any picture to see a bigger view then click on your "back" button to return.]

Then I got a surprise, when looking at my pictures on the 31st, to see there were clearly three little mouths! [left] Three is unusual; most of the time there are two eggs in a hummingbird nest. [On this photo you can also see that she is "flashing" a few of the bright pink feathers at her throat that help to identify her as an Anna's Hummingbird.]

When I told a ranger at a local park about the three babies, she warned me that it isn't unusual for one of the babies to get pushed out of the nest, when there are three. And, in fact, it appears that is what happened, as I never saw three babies again - only two. :-(

The babies are getting bigger and growing fast. It's been a joy to watch them, but I don't know how much longer they will be here. As fast as they are growing, they may be fledging soon.



Post Script - 12 Feb: This photo on the right, taken 12 Feb, is the last one I took before the remaining two babies fledged. The larger one (in front) had been doing a lot of preening,and flapping its wings, and I knew they would be gone soon. I have mixed feelings about that. Sad that I won't get to watch them any more. But happy that they have successfully fledged.



28 Feb - Post Post Script: I thought that was the end of the story. But I decided this afternoon to measure the hummingbird nest, and take a couple pictures of the tree, to give you a better perspective on just how tiny this nest is. I've read that hummingbirds don't re-use their nests, so I didn't figure Mama Hummingbird would mind if I examined it, now that she's through with it. I took a picture of the tree that the nest is in. Can you spy the nest? I'll give you a clue. It's on one of the bottom branches on the left. Still can't find it? I'll give you a little closer view, and see if that helps. Can you see it now?

Due to my mother's recent illness, I haven't been home for a couple weeks. But this afternoon when I was measuring the nest (1 inch high, 1 3/4 inch across), I heard the sound of a hummingbird "chattering", and, to my surprise, I saw a hummingbird in Mama Hummingbird's favorite spot, at the top of the tree next to my house. Not only did it seem to be talking to me, like she so often did, as I went to and fro from my RV's front door to my car, but it gave the little dance in the air, that I've come to associate with a greeting, similar to "I'm glad to see you". I was very surprised, but, especially so, when I realized it wasn't Mama Hummingbird that was greeting me, but one of the juveniles!!! :-) [photo above] Did my heart good. What a wonderful experience this has been.

And, finally, this is a photo I took last year of a male Anna's Hummingbird, flashing his bright pink colors. If one of the juveniles is a male, this is what he will look like when he grows up! :-)

6 Feb 2012 - Mesa News

When I woke up the morning of January 21st, I didn't know it wasn't going to be just another day. If someone had told me I was going to buy a house that day, I would have been pretty surprised. But that's what happened. My mother told me that her neighbors were selling their home (she lives in a mobile home retirement community) at a very good price. I found out the price was even better than I'd thought it was, and I felt like it was an opportunity I couldn't pass up. I'd been thinking that I would buy a place here in Mesa as my winter home, in a couple years or so. And I'd looked at this particular home a year or so ago, when the price was much higher. It's been well-cared-for. I am excited about having my own brick home again.

So I'm going to have to change my description from "full-time RV-er" when I take possession the end of March. It's a small house with two bedrooms. But it's plenty big for me. After the 22-foot RV I've been living in, for the past four years, it feels huge!! :-) So much storage space! So many cupboards! Such a big closet! And, most important, room for company!!! :-)

I've been taking Joey out for hikes often since I got back from California. It's good exercise for both of us. (One reason I wanted to get a dog again - I get a lot more exercise!!) We've been going to my favorite place, the Water Ranch in Gilbert, where I've seen lots of birds, as always. We go to Riverview Park and the Tempe Canal [left] the most frequently, as they are the closest to where I live. I finally made it to Papago Park [below], and was impressed with its beauty. I discovered Cosmo Dog Park and we have been there several times. It's rated the #1 dog park in the country, complete with a lake for the retrievers to swim in. Joey loves running off-leash full-speed on the grass. I went on a bird walk at McDowell Regional Park; it was my first time to that part of the park. We went to Fountain Park in Fountain Hills for the first time. That fountain is impressive, the highest fountain I've ever seen, for sure - 330 feet high! Imagine! [In the photo, those tiny little smudges along the shoreline are people.] Another park I went to, for the first time recently, was Pioneer Park, in downtown Mesa. I was impressed with the beautiful trees, of different varieties. And learned that Mesa was settled by the Mormons (I should have guessed that, with all the Mormon churches, and the temple, here.)

Just recently I took the Moonlight Hike at Lost Dutchman State Park, and saw the hazy moon rise over the Superstition Mountains. We listened to some of Nakai's beautiful Native American flute music as the ranger told us one of the Apache stories about a great flood that killed all the people except those who climbed to the top of the Superstition Mountains. And we listened to "Dutchman's Gold" by Walter Brennan (1960), as she told us the story of the Dutchman's secret gold mine. It was a beautiful night, perfect for hiking (temp in the 50s?). The Moonlight Hike is their most popular hike, which surprised me. But I enjoyed it, that's for sure.

Probably my most favorite place is the Cottonwood Wetlands, which is on the native reservation close by. I see many birds there, but I've never seen another person. It's quiet, and you can easily forget you are in the middle of a city. Last year I even saw a bald eagle there. Sometimes I drive down the road a ways, and park at a vantage point where I can see the sun setting over the Salt River. Gorgeous.

I could hike somewhere different every day of the year, and I don't know how many years it would take, before I would finally have tried them all around here.

As always, Mesa is a birder's paradise. The number and variety of birds here is amazing - some who winter here, and others who migrate through. I've already seen several "new" birds, for me, and have a good start on my 2012 Bird List. [Gila Woodpecker at top, Green Heron next, Canvasback near bottom]