Birdwatching Fun for Your Weekend

Have you heard about Phoebe?  She’s a Channel Island Allen hummingbird living in Orange County, California.  She lays 4-5 clutches a year and a gentleman in CA has a web cam set up to capture it all.

When I was last watching, she had a baby in the nest and an egg about to hatch.

Hummingbird Nest with Baby 1

You can see both the baby and the egg in these pics.

Hummingbird Nest with Baby 2

Here’s Phoebe, returning back to the nest to feed the baby.

Hummingbird Nest with Baby 3

Feeding her baby…

Hummingbird Nest with Baby 4

Isn’t she adorable!  Hummingbird nests are tiny, tiny…only about 1 1/2 inches wide!  So you can imagine how tiny the babies are inside.

Hummingbird Nest with Baby 5

You can watch Phoebe taking care of her babies as they grow and leave the nest via a live cam here:  Nest Cam for Phoebe the Hummingbird   She leaves the nest frequently to search for food so you get a lot of views of the babies during the day.

Hummingbird Nest with Baby 6

Update: I’ve been out of town this weekend, but apparently the other egg never hatched and was removed. Also, an orphaned baby bird was placed in the nest and Phoebe is caring for it along with her baby. What a good Mom! 🙂

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Comments

  1. Oh my! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a hummingbird standing still..this is amazing Susan!…and so sweet too…Thanks for posting..great way to start the day! Have a great weekend!

  2. Elaine in Laguna says

    Susan,
    Thank you for posting the Phoebe cam from my neck of the woods! I was delighted to see it on your blog! Although it rained here this week, Spring is on our doorstep. Thank you for the great Saturday morning wake up! Have a great weekend!

  3. I agree, a wonderful day to start the day!!!! Thank you for sharing your discovery!

  4. Awwww how cute is that. I have actually held a hummingbird in my hands. One flew into my house one sunny day and ended up on the window ledge of my picture window. I went over thinking it was one of the many dragonflies that end up in the house but was so shocked to see the little guy on the ledge. I picked him up and carried him out back and released him. He had no weight in my hands whatsoever but I could feel his vibrations from his body.

  5. Thanks for posting the link to watch Phoebe and babies. I used to watch Molly the barn owl on a web cam. Saw her
    raise two sets of owl babies. It was fun to watch the parents teach them to fly at night.

  6. Oh, my, I can’t wait until our hummingbirds return…we had a wee little nest in the birch tree outside our bedroom window. One time I was in the garden and a hummingbird “stared” at me for a full minute…it was ethereal…I didn’t move a muscle. I admire them so. franki

  7. Susan,
    Thanks so much for sharing this hummer cam. We have a nest and usually get 2 babies each summer. Our hummers don’t show up here until mid to late May. Have a wonderful weekend.

  8. That was amazing Susan. I went and watched all the videos. Smart Mother building her nest in a rose bush, a thorny surprise for predators. I can hardly believe those babies are so tiny.
    I once held a hummingbird, it was stunned after flying into the glass. It was so lovely to feel his little body beating, he eventually woke up and flew away.
    Thank you for posting this.

  9. This is WONDERFUL. And so are you, Susan, for sharing it with us.

  10. Oh, my!!! I love it!! thank you so much for sharing the website. I’m such a lover of animal cams.

  11. Oh this is darling!!! We just love little Hummers and this is such a sweet capture of their amazing lives! Thank you for sharing Susan!
    Terry

  12. I’ve got to share that with my parents…they are such bird watchers.
    Thanks for the post!
    Deb

  13. Sharon McMurray says

    This is just what I needed! I just love spring and momma birds! She is beautiful! Thanks for sharing!

  14. I believe only one egg hatched. There are two because a chick that had lost its home was placed in the nest. Mom accepted the baby and all is well. There is a video of them adding the adopted baby. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pScks71UjY&list=UUgWfuTtihhiaJdbfBd8x8zw&index=1

  15. That. Was. Amazing. I “tweeted” it or rather, I hummed it. I’ve never seen a living hummingbird be still. Thank you for sharing.

  16. Thank you Susan, for posting these pis and the link to watch. We have a lot of hummingbirds here in the summer at my feeders but I have never seen a nest so I will be checking out this video feed. Enjoy the weekend! Pamela

  17. Thank you for sharing this wonderful link. I have only seen hummingbirds in flight. So wonderful to see her nest and her babies.

  18. My mom has feeders for hummingbirds and loves to watch them dart in and out so I sent this video link to her so she could see them up close and personal. Thanks for sharing.

  19. A friend sent this one to me…amazing how tiny they are…have you seen this video…you’ll have to copy and paste…or go to you tube and put baby hummingbird rescue in the search…for some reason Foxfire doesn’t leave the site blue to click on.??…i really dislike that..thinking you might like this one too..i wanted to share….it has a great music accompaniment…I’m not only amazed that this was done..but that a kid did it…so impressive…hope you like it…………Wende

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvrcdQWzH-8

  20. OOOwwwh …it’s adorable!!
    Thanks to sharing it! <3

    xoxo

  21. thanks for sharing. I have not had a nest in my yard. I do have a resident hummer that stays summer & winter. I so enjoy watching them when they are around.

  22. I love birds, but hummingbirds are among my favorites. Not only are they delicate and beautiful, but I’m amazed at how well such tiny little creatures can survive in this great big world. So very sweet. I’m looking forward to watching more of Phoebe and her little babies in the future. Thanks for posting. –Lucinda :0)

  23. Oh, Susan,
    this is a heartwarming post… Phoebe is so sweet and her babies are so cute!
    Didn’t another Mrs. Hummingbird build a cozy nest for her babies in the basket on your door, a few years ago? They also were really cute…
    I guess they know where to find a warm “nest” to build their own nest! 🙂
    ~Hugs to you~
    Cecilia

    • Oh, Susan,
      I did just check my emails.
      Thank you very much and oh, yes, please continue to tell us what are you reading at the moment!
      (Oh my! I just realized I’m so da** curious! lol) Seriously: I love that idea! 🙂
      I hope you’ll enjoy your mountain adventure and am looking forward to seeing the pictures!
      Have a good time!

  24. Very sweet and precious. Thanks for sharing.

  25. Awww! Thanks for sharing this with us.
    Hope you are enjoying the weekend.

  26. Thanks so much for sharing this, Susan!!! I am sending the link to my hbby too. Have a great weekend. It si gorgeous here today!!!! XO, Pinky

  27. This is awesome. Thanks for posting it!

  28. Oh my..such wonderful shots of Phoebe and babies. I adore birds and I always see them in my windows, so high up where I live, not only birds, but beautiful white owls too! I’m just never ready to take shots, lol.. Thank you, I loved it. Big hugs,
    FABBY

  29. I’ve not seen a humming bird around here maybe we don’t have them in the southern hemi they are the sweetest little fellows.
    Merle…

  30. That is so cute! I’ve never seen a hummingbird nest before. It doesn’t look like most bird nests. Much better actually. The mother bird is so sweet on top of the nest. Thanks for sharing this.

  31. Phoebe and her brood are adorable! Thanks for sharing this; I look forward to keeping track of her doings!

  32. I don’t know why I did not know about this. I have been shark watching on your coast, but I must say Phoebe is better watching than Mary Lee. http://sharks-ocearch.verite.com

  33. Update on Phoebe. 2nd egg was non-viable and was removed so a bird rehab be could place an orphan baby hummer in the nest. Phoebe fed the new hummer, both babies doing fine. This is second time we’ve seen an orphan hummer placed in another nest. Check out World of Hummingbirds to see Emma’s story. She fed 3 babies, the orphan was a different species and all did fine and fledged.

  34. Love Phoebe and this post. I have watched Pandas on webcam but didn’t know about Phoebe. I will be watching for sure.

  35. Awww, that’s so cute. And reading that their nests are only one and a half inches across makes it even cuter. How tiny they must be. I watched a bit on the camera and they were sleeping. One had it’s little orange beak poking up. Phoebe appears to enjoy motherhood. 🙂

  36. I see newborns dont have the beak length, thank goodness for mama. The young look like any other bird but tiny. I too have held several in my hand,,once they tired out and I caught them in my house, garage, or breezeway. I even carry around the feeder trying to catch them because they rely so heavily on frequent feeding to survive. I have seen nests but no babies in my trees. Just timing I suppose. Thank you

  37. I just love this!! Thank you

  38. Oh I can’t wait til my little ruby throats come back this year. I sure have missed them! What a neat idea, I’kk have to check Pheobe out and pass it along to my mom, she’d love it!

  39. Beautiful

  40. Well, this could seriously cut into the things I need to get accomplished today — I just want to sit here and watch! This is so sweet!

  41. Been following Phoebe for about 3 years now. What a simple thing to bring such simple joy.

  42. Two Christmases ago my husband bought me a bird cam. We set it up on the hummingbird feeder last summer and got great shots of our Ruby Throat. I have a personal fondness for her as she comes right by me as I work outside.

    This past winter a Rufus Hummingbird turned up and has stayed at Green Springs Garden Park in Alexandria, Virginia. First of all, we do not have Rufus Hummingbirds here. Second, they certainly do not stay the winter. The park put a heat lamp over the feeder they put up for her. She is a beauty. You can see her on You Tube under Green Spring Gardens Rufus Hummingbird. We will be sad when she leaves.

  43. I LOVE birds and have lots of feeders and nest boxes. Thanks for posting so we can see up close and personal!

  44. Thanks so much for sharing this. I am now addicted. Also, wanted to let you know I gave you credit for sharing this gem on my blog post tonight {The post title is: Signs of Spring}.

    • Thanks, Kimberly! She is such a good Mom isn’t she. Amazing to see her taking care of her babies. They grow so fast…they will be out of the nest before we know it!

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