Bird Supermoms
Female hummingbirds amaze with incredible maternal skills.
Everyone knows of male hummingbirds and their dazzling iridescent hues. But the females wow us in a more practical way: They are among the best mothers in the bird world. Male hummingbirds take no part in raising the young, so these miniature moms do the big job all by themselves.
To shelter her cherished eggs, a female hummingbird builds an exquisite nest that is equally as precious as it is practical. She fashions a tiny cup from the finest plant materials, like the wispy down from dandelions or thistles, and places it on top of a branch, tying them together with sticky spiderwebs. She covers the outside of the nest with tiny flakes of lichen to camouflage her masterpiece.
The build time is anywhere from a week to 10 days, and the resulting nest looks like a bump on a branch— almost impossible to spot.
Once her nest is complete, the female lays two eggs (sometimes only one), each roughly the size of a bean. When incubation starts, she strikes a balance between keeping the eggs warm and keeping herself alive—hummingbirds burn a lot of energy, even when they’re sitting still, so the female leaves the nest frequently to find food for herself. During the day, she’ll usually leave five or six times per hour, spending a few minutes grabbing a meal before returning to settle on the eggs again. In all, she manages to keep the eggs covered for about three-quarters of daylight and all night long.
The weather affects the length of the incubation period. If it’s warm and food is easy to find, the female spends more time on the eggs and they may hatch in as little as 12 days. If it’s cold and wet or if the female has to take longer feeding trips, extending the time she’s away from her eggs, they may take up to 19 days to hatch. But the tenacious mother hummingbird keeps on incubating, no matter how long it takes.
After the eggs hatch, the little supermom switches to an even higher gear to keep her youngsters warm and fed. Scrawny and naked, the babies look like little space aliens at first. The female needs to spend nearly every minute caring for them when she’s not zipping away to get food.
Leaving the nest only for brief foraging forays, the female speeds away to gather up nectar, pollen and tiny insects. She feeds these items to the young in a slurry form, jabbing her bill far down the throat of each nestling to transfer the nutritious liquid lunch. Never fear, she won’t impale her babies with that long bill.
The young soon start to sprout feathers. Within two weeks they may sit on the rim of the nest and start to stretch their wings. About three weeks after hatching, they make their perilous first flights, whirring away from the nest.
After the young start flying, the female continues to monitor and feed them for another week. You may think she deserves a rest, but she’s probably hard at work building a different nest for the second brood while she’s still feeding young from the first. It’s just another reason why hummingbird mothers are so amazing!
Kenn and Kimberly Kaufman enjoy the challenge of trying to find a ruby-throated hummingbird nest in their Ohio backyard every summer.
Spot black-chinned and broad-tailed hummingbirds nesting along the creek, easily accessible from the visitor center. Arrive early for the best bird-watching and to park in the area, avoiding the shuttle that’s required after 9 a.m. in peak season.
Take the for a taste of the wide diversity of habitats, birds and other wildlife found across the monument’s 33,000 acres. The path features over a mile of elevation changes, spanning canyons, creeks, mesas, meadows and even a waterfall.