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Are You My Mother? Hummingbird babies

By
Services for Real Estate Pros with Quality Home Investments, LLC / Dearborn Heights, MI

Are You My Mother?  Hummingbird babies.

Are you my Mother?

 

 

Remember the children's book, Are You My Mother? 

A baby bird can't find it's Mother and starts wandering around asking everyone and everything from the dog, to the cat, to the airplane, to the steam shovel, "Are you my Mother?"


That was my second  thought once I realized what I was looking at.

 

 

Visiting my Dad in San Diego, I was walking by the large fern hanging near the front door when I noticed what I thought was a small wasp nest.

I brought it to his attention and that's when he told me it was a hummingbird nest. REALLY...
When they lifted their tiny heads looking to be fed, it reminded me of the book.

Now back in Michigan, we feed the hummingbirds and I've seen them flying around. At first glance, they just look like another large insect. But when they stop in flight to feed, it is such a graceful sight to see.

So we've been watching this nest for a few days and haven't seen the Mom or Dad around. My Dad said that the Mother will come back occasionally to feed her young but doesn't sit on the nest with them. And he was surprised when I told him there were two babies in there. He said that typically there's only one baby at a time.

So, I just wanted to share this rare sighting with everyone else.

hummingbird nest

hummingbird nest

 

hummingbird nest

hummingbird nest

You can see their size proportionate to my thumb in this video.

 

Beth Anne Grib
Beiler-Campbell Commercial Realtors - Kennett Square, PA
Experienced Director of Business Development and M

Thank you for such a beautiful, cool and (personally educational) post. That is absolutely awesome.

Jun 02, 2011 03:12 AM
Team Honeycutt
Allen Tate - Concord, NC

We have the hummingbirds here also in NC and I have yet to see a nest so now I know what to look for . Thanks for posting this was great. ( J )

Jun 02, 2011 03:30 AM
Michael Delaware
North Sky Realty LLC - Battle Creek, MI
REALTOR®, CRS, GRI

Very cute photos of the baby birds.  I like the tie in with the Doctor Suess book too.

Jun 02, 2011 04:52 AM
Barbara Hensley
RE/MAX Properties - Rockwall, TX
Homes for Sale in Rockwall County, Texas

Craig - Ohhhhh!  Those small hungry mouths - makes me want to come running with some bird seed!  Cool photos!

Jun 02, 2011 10:10 AM
Craig Snead
Quality Home Investments, LLC / Dearborn Heights, MI - Dearborn Heights, MI
Real Estate Investor

Beth Anne, this was my first time seeing something as unique as this. i was impressed.

Team Honeycutt, I was clueless till now. They are sooo tiny.

Michael, the book just clicked for me. I remember reading it to my kids 30+ years ago.

Barbara, that's the Motherly instinct coming out. My wife told me not to get too close when I was taking the pictures. She didn't want me to scare them and have them fall out. I was careful.

 

Jun 02, 2011 11:39 AM
Myrl Jeffcoat
Sacramento, CA
Greater Sacramento Realtor - Retired

When I was a kid, we had a hummingbird nest in our orange tree.  I was astonished at how small the nest was.  The eggs are quite tiny as well!  That's a neat collection of photos you have there Craig!

Jun 02, 2011 01:07 PM
Chris Alston
Chris Alston (Keller Williams Realty, Silicon Valley, California) - Campbell, CA
Silicon Valley, California

Wow!!!  So small!  It looked like nothing from far away, then up close! btw...  I read that book to my son sometimes!

Jun 02, 2011 06:01 PM
Keith Gilkey
Re/Max Chesapeake - Elkton, MD
410-920-7214, Re/Max Chesapeake

Craig, That is a fantastic find! Great job in capturing the babies. That has to be pretty rare!

Jun 03, 2011 02:19 AM
Craig Snead
Quality Home Investments, LLC / Dearborn Heights, MI - Dearborn Heights, MI
Real Estate Investor

Myrl, this was my first time ever seeing a hummingbird nest. I never imagined how small it would be.

Chris, from a distance, my first thought was a wasp nest. That book will stick with you for years to come. I'm sure your son enjoys the time together reading.

Keith, it was a rare sighting for me. For my Dad, he sees them on a regular basis. His yard is like a jungle with plenty of places to build a nest.

 

Jun 03, 2011 03:53 AM
Brian Doubleday
Brian Doubleday - IML RealEstate - Orange County, CA Broker - Ladera Ranch, CA
Ladera Ranch, Foothill Ranch, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo

Amazing photos, I have a lot of hummingbirds in my yard, but I've never been that close to their nest

Jun 03, 2011 07:13 PM
Patricia Feager, MBA, CRS, GRI,MRP
DFW FINE PROPERTIES - Flower Mound, TX
Selling Homes Changing Lives

CRAIG,

YOU'VE GOT TO GET THIS ONE POSTED ON THE Birds Group!!!

I JUST KNOW ALL THE BIRD LOVERS WILL LOVE TO SEE THIS.

I AM SO THANKFUL YOU GOT THIS ON VIDEO AND THAT I GOT TO SEE IT!

IT'S A MIRACLE! THANKS CRAIG!

PATRICIA

Jun 03, 2011 10:06 PM
Craig Snead
Quality Home Investments, LLC / Dearborn Heights, MI - Dearborn Heights, MI
Real Estate Investor

Brian, we have hummingbirds in MI. I only see them because we have a feeder out to attract them. I was in awe of the nest and couldn't resist a photo/blog opportunity.

Patricia, I went and joined the BIRDS group, then edited the post. I changed where I posted and added the group. Thank you for the idea.

Jun 04, 2011 04:06 AM
Liz Lockhart
Riverbend Realty, Cape Girardeau, MO - Cape Girardeau, MO
GRI, Cape Girardeau Real Estate

Craig~ This is just so fascinating! I "liked" it for FaceBook, and I'm hitting the SUGGEST for AR. This is just so great that more people need to see it! That nest is so itty-bitty that most of us would never even notice it.

Jun 06, 2011 05:02 PM
Craig Snead
Quality Home Investments, LLC / Dearborn Heights, MI - Dearborn Heights, MI
Real Estate Investor

Liz, I was impressed by the small nest so full of life. I almost didn't see it myself. Thank you for the suggest.

Jun 07, 2011 04:08 AM
Fred Griffin Florida Real Estate
Fred Griffin Real Estate - Tallahassee, FL
Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker

My favorite book of all time.  I read it as a child.  I read it to our daughter.  I read it to our grandchildren (and bought the Video).

Nice pics and a great video, Craig.

Jun 07, 2011 05:34 PM
Craig Snead
Quality Home Investments, LLC / Dearborn Heights, MI - Dearborn Heights, MI
Real Estate Investor

Fred, I read this book to my oldest kids who've read it to their kids. I didn't know there was movie version. I'll have to look into that.

Jun 07, 2011 05:55 PM
Gene Mundt, IL/WI Mortgage Originator - FHA/VA/Conv/Jumbo/Portfolio/Refi
NMLS #216987, IL Lic. 031.0006220, WI Licensed. APMC NMLS #175656 - New Lenox, IL
708.921.6331 - 40+ yrs experience

Craig:  Unbelievable how the simplest things can be so captivating and beautiful.  We had a nest in a tree just off our back deck last year.  My wife and I would sit at night each night and watch the mother, father, and babies feed, fly, and interact.  Better than any movie we could have been watching!  Your post reminds us .. sometimes the simple things are best.  Thanks ...

Gene

Jun 08, 2011 05:00 AM
Craig Snead
Quality Home Investments, LLC / Dearborn Heights, MI - Dearborn Heights, MI
Real Estate Investor

Gene, it's like stopping to smell the roses and appreciate what life has to offer. It's amazing. Glad you liked the story.

Jun 08, 2011 07:22 AM