My friend Dianne Dunhill has a hummingbird nest in the top of a tall Pachyodium lamerei. This parent is sitting on two babies. The nest is made of lichen and spider silk and it is well camouflaged in the top of this plant. Diane thinks the babies will fledge in a few days.
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| Nesting Hummingbird |
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| Nesting Hummingbird |
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| The hummingbird nest is in the top of this Pachypodium lameri |
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| Nesting Hummingbird |
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| Nesting Hummingbird |
Great pictures! Some birds indeed do like to nest in spiny places. I know of some thrashers who enjoy nesting in cholla cactus (I saw two today, one of them singing beautifully), and I have heard about roadrunners who enjoy the protection of clumps of prickly pear. You write, "This parent is sitting on two babies." The parent is 99% certain to be the mom, as the females do everything but that one thing that the males do. Oh, actually males do one other thing: chase female hummers (who they've already mated with? or are already moms) away from sources of food, which are what often attracted the female in the first place. Female hummers can be territorial but are much friendlier to other females. Females and males can become friends again late in the summer and travel back to Mexico and further south together (I've seen such an apparent friendship, two Broadtail hummers).
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