Hummingbird nest / 8 Fun facts you should know

Hummingbird nests are very special as compared to many other species. Their nests look like a compact cup with spongy floors elastic slides.  Their nests have a special ability to stretch as the young grow. The main material in their nests are twigs, plant fibers, and leaves. They also use the spider silk as threads to bind together the nest foundation.

 

There are many other interesting and exciting facts about Hummingbird nests other than the nests building materials. Let’s see some exciting fun facts about the Hummingbird nests.

1. Tough to find 

Hummingbird nests are not easy to locate due to their tiny size and the ability to perfectly blend with the surroundings. You can’t simply locate the hummingbird nest from beneath. Hummingbirds nests perfectly look like a branch with which they are attached. They usually pick a hidden spot where the rain can easily deflect by the overhead cover. Hummingbirds like to make nests in the bushes where their view is surrounded by leaves.

So, if you are looking to find a hummingbird nest, you need to do a lot of work. Firstly, you need to go into the hummingbird-friendly habitat where these birds like to build the nest. Hummingbird-friendly habitat includes areas with a lot of nectar feeders and their favorite trees. When you see a hummingbird, you need to follow it perfectly as you can. When the hummingbird suddenly disappears, note that spot and look for the nest around. Repeating this process can lead you to a hummingbird nest. But make sure to don’t disturb the natural habitat of the hummingbird after locating the nest.

2. Built-in weird locations 

Most of the hummingbirds prefer to build their nest in weird locations like small trees, or bushes. These are the perfect locations for the hummingbird nests to protect them against the winds and other movements. But you can also found a hummingbird in all types of odd places like wind chimes, light fixtures, on top of the security camera, garden decorations, and strings of holiday lights. So, don’t shock if you found any hummingbird feeder in these types of odd places.

3. Females do all the work

After mating males immediately leave and don’t support the resulting eggs, and hatching. All the work related to the nests done by the female. They usually build nests on those places which are difficult to access. They wanted to choose the best location to prevent predators. When the female hummingbird sitting in the nest, they follow the incubation schedule for their eggs. They incubate the eggs for fifteen minutes and leave them for 10 minutes to feed. They repeat this process until the babies come.

4. Don’t use the birdhouse 

Hummingbirds don’t use the usual birdhouses for nesting. They don’t like to enclosed in a cavity during nesting. So, make sure to don’t buy any birdhouse for hummingbirds, they will never use it.

5. Incredibly small

A Hummingbird nest size is only like a ping pong ball. So, you can imagine the size of the hummingbird eggs. A hummingbird egg is usually the size of a small jellybean, a coffee bean, or a tic-tac. Usually, there are two white eggs in a clutch. Now, you can also imagine the size of a hummingbird baby.

6. Use spider silk

Hummingbirds use the spider silk to make their nests durable and elastic. This nest only used for 35 to 56 days by the hummers. But it is durable and can be used again. The wrapped spider webs give it remarkable strength and resilience. Moreover, there are many other benefits of spider silk-like it allows easy attachment of the other material. They usually attach the flakes of lichen, or bits of moss to look like the nest a part of a tree.

7. Migration path

Migration is another interesting fact about hummingbirds. Instead of their small size, they travel up to 2000 miles twice a year. They spend their winter in Central America or Mexico and migrate on their breeding grounds during the late winter and early spring. Before starting the migration, hummingbirds gains 25 to 40 percent of their body weight. They flew alone along the same path in their life. A hummingbird can travel 23 miles per day.

8. Antisocial 

Hummingbirds are unsocial birds like many other bird species. When more than one bird around the same source, it can end up with high-speed chases. Mating season is also competitive for the males. Usually, the male hummingbird bob and weave to prove their dominance. They also use their needle-like beaks like knives to get their mate.

Hummingbird nest species

There are some common nest-building hummingbird species as well which are seen in building their nest in their preferred habitats. Most of these species are noted in North America. Let’s see common nest-building hummingbird species in North America.

Anna’s Hummingbird 

An oak, sycamore, or eucalyptus tree branch is a favorite location of nesting for Anna’s hummingbird. They love to make a nest at 6 to 20 feet height from the ground near a nectar source. Some also use the tall shrubs to make their nests. The female hummingbird just started with a flat platform and start making the walls around it according to her body. After laying the eggs, she also decorates the nest from outside.

Calliope Hummingbird 

Calliope hummingbird likes to make their nest on conifers. They love to have a sheltering branch over the nest which protects them from bad weather conditions. Sometimes the female also attaches the pine trees with their existing nests.

Costa’s Hummingbird

This hummingbird species is mostly found in California, Nevada, and Arizona. You can easily spot a nest of this species due to their friendly behavior. Usually, they built their nests close to the ground as compared to the other species. They use different materials like sunflower down, strips of bark, and small leaves with spiders to silk to make their nest.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

You can locate these birds in the eastern half of North America. The most like places of this species are meadows, orchards, perimeters of forests, edges of streams, and backyard. They like to build nests on the top of the branch as compared to fork. Their nest size is small as compared to other hummers.

Rufous Hummingbird

Rufous hummingbirds are mostly known for driving the much larger birds as compared to their size. They are quite fierce. They like to build the nest with lichen, bark, moss, and spiderweb-like many other hummingbirds.

Conclusion 

From all the above, we can say it’s quite difficult to find a hummingbird nest due to their small size, special building material, and the special location of the hummingbird nests. There are many other interesting facts about the hummingbirds like their egg size, nest building material, migration, and behavior.