Baby hummingbird and other bird pics

[Jonna]

A momma hummingbird has a nest in the orange tree right off our friends patio.  This is the 2nd chick she's raised this year.  We've been watching her feed him and trying to get a good picture.  This is momma sitting on her nest.


Yesterday Mimi got a picture of both of them.


Today she was there when he took his first flight.  He landed on the ground and momma buzzed him over and over until he got up and flew up into the tree.  Mimi got the camera and caught mom feeding him after his first flight.
 

He then hung there for awhile contemplating his new world. 


Mom went back to the nest and is still sitting on it.  We don't know if she has another egg in there or she is about to lay another one.  Take a break girl!

Meanwhile over at the feeder, a small bird has figured out how to hang on it and get its beak inside.  When the hummers spot him there they chase him into the next block


Danger is never far away, this is a kestrel that hunts birds and lizards in our yard.  Today he was on the ground with a lizard (I didn't have the camera darn it) and a jay was attacking him.  It was a great show, that jay is the same one I saw chase a cat across the yard the other day.

[SueSTx]

Bird watching is nearly as much fun as fish watching.  Cute baby hummer.

[Esther]

Those pictures are such a treat Jonna. I rarely see hummers, let alone a Momma and baby.

[Mikey]

Great photos Jonna.  We have hummers here year-round but I've never seen a nest.  We have several citrus trees so I will pay more attention to them to see if they are nesting there.  Looks like the little guys are barely hanging their bottoms over the edge of their nest to poop

I also get a kick from the antics of Blue Jays.  This morning a Jay took a peanut from off our patio table and flew off but not before another Jay, defending his territory, took a swipe at him.  Then if that wasn't enough, a Mockingbird, defending her territory, saw the same Jay and also took umbrage at having this marauder about and she also took a couple of swipes at the poor guy....

[Ky Kim]

Those phots are incredible, that's for sharing them.  They are awesome.

Kim

[Jonna]

Mikey,  Mimi is the one that knows the names of birds and can identify them and today we were watching the same bird I called a Jay and she says it is a Mockingbird, I just thought it was a gray Jay.  Ferocious bird, it sits up on the roof or utility poles and flies up and down just waiting for something to attack.  The hummers are really ferocious too, they get in some incredible aerial battles. 

BTW, Mimi says the hummingbirds in the picture are called Costa's.

[Kittyzee]

Beautiful, touching pictures!  I've never seen a hummingbird nest, would love to find one.  I'm gonna have to try to snap some pics of them at our feeders.  We have ruby-throated hummingbirds here.  Never seen another kind around. 

[Indiana Karen]

Amazing pictures, thanks for posting them.

You are soooooooo lucky, I would love to have a hummer nest to watch.

karen

[MikeW]

Awesome shots. I don't know why I was surprized that hummers had nests - just never thought about it before. They are just always around. Now the ferocious bit I can relate to - nearly lost an eye to one of them years back, and to this day, give them a healthy distance as they dart around the patio, leading with their sharp pointy bit.

Cheers,

Mike

[Sandye]

Jonna, those are amazing pictures!!!   

What kind of camera are you using, and how much zoom does it have?

[Jonna]

Thanks.  Those were taken with the camera we got last fall, I'm really loving it.  It's a Panasonic FZ30 and has a 12x optical zoom.  I wanted an auto camera with the ability to control everything manually as well and mainly, at least a 10x zoom.  We love to take pictures of birds and other critters we run across and our previous camera only had a 4x zoom which doesn't let you get close enough to most birds.  I've discovered that it has another interesting feature, the LCD window folds down so you can use it to focus on something without it really looking like you are focusing the camera.  Sort of 'sneaky' photo taking.  That can be convenient in some places where I really want to get a picture of people just going about their business but don't want to be obvious.

Here are 2 more pictures of the Kestrel.

[karen J]

Well, I thought the hummingbird photos were amazing enough, but then came the Kestrel photos! Wow, they are all gorgeous. Thanks for the treat! I've never seen a Kestrel before.

[Marilyn C]

Amazing!!   Wonderful!!

[Esther]

Isn't the kestral kinda like a hawk?

[Sandye]

Thanks for the info, Jonna!  I'm definitely going to check that camera out!  Those are just wonderfully clear pictures.   

[Pa Nancy]

Beautiful shots. Thanks for sharing. Hummingbirds are my FAVORITE!!!

[Jonna]

Isn't the kestral kinda like a hawk?

Yes, the American Kestrel is one of the smallest raptors in the US, I think it is related to a falcon only smaller.  The mockingbird that chases it everywhere it goes is at least the same size, maybe a little bigger.