Since several of us are busy tracking hummingbirds here, I thought I’d include a link to an incredible series of photos, the link to which a friend forwarded to me. The five or six pages of beautiful photos are by someone named Verle, I think, who uses a Panasonic DMC FZ20 digital camera with a 12x zoom lens, which can reach into the jungle and retrieve these images without creating too much stress on the birds. That’s very important to me; over-stressing a breeding bird can cause serious consequences. Often times birds will abandon eggs and even hatchlings, if disturbed.Click here to go to Verle's hummingbird pages and follow the life of a hummingbird, from egg to fledgling. They are beautifully captured on just a few pages. If you like the images, you will find a link at the bottom of page six that takes you to another year’s nest and similar shots.
Nina, blogger-friend of mine at Nature Remains, also grabbed a sequence much like these. She’s a gifted writer/photographer…you will enjoy her site. Click here to see Nina’s hummingbird nest series, but be sure to read it from the bottom UP; unfortunately, I cannot figure out how to easily direct you to the sequential story…so the story starts at the bottom of the page with "Meet the Parents". My all-time favorite quote of Nina’s (and there are many), is regarding growing hummingbird chicks: “Changing position has become like a sword fight in a phone booth.” She’s incredibly gifted.
UPDATE: As of October 17, I still have at least one hummingbird feeding...sometimes in the freezing sleet! I will keep the feeders up (and thawed) for several many more days...just in case. These mighty migrators need all the help they can get!
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