Hummingbird Nests
A hummingbird nest is, like a crown jewel, one of the great wonders in all of nature. They are so tiny, so perfect. But most of us have never seen a hummingbird nest. That’s because they’re nearly impossible to find. From the ground, they appear as just another bump on a branch. An umbrella of leaves hides them from above. And from the side they resemble a dream knot, tucked in with lichens, plant down and fibers. While each of the 17 species of hummingbird that breed in North America builds their own somewhat variable nest in different kinds of habitat, all hummingbird nests have a lot in common.
Hummingbird Nest Facts
Female hummingbirds nest 10 to 90 feet high, usually in trees or shrubs (exceptions include the black-chinned hummingbird, which is a native of the American Southwest, and the Costa’s hummingbird, which ranges from the Sonoran Desert to the Pacific Coast).
Hummingbirds construct velvety, small cups with spongy floors and elastic walls that stretch as the young expand. They interlace twigs, plant fibers and small pieces of leaves, using spider silk as a thread to construct the nests, stitching the nests together and securing them to the foundation.
The eggs of hummingbirds are roughly the size of navy beans.
Most phenomenon eggs, which females incubate for 15 to 18 days.
Unlike chicks, however, juvenile hummingbirds fledge (leave the nest) 18 to 28 days after hatching.
How to Attract Hummingbirds to Nest
Nectar plants are an essential part of attracting hummingbirds, something any hummingbird lover knows. But these diminutive creatures depend on a different set of plants for nesting materials. Plant some of these in your garden to attract hummingbirds to nest close by.
Hummingbirds don’t use nest boxes or tree cavities. Instead they typically nest in a shelter tree or shrubbery, commonly at a fork in a few branches. Add foliage to your hummingbird haven by planting a variety of leafy trees and larger shrubs with sheltering branches at different heights.
And if you want to get the most bang for your buck, plant trees and shrubs that bear catkins, soft plant fibers that birds use to line their nests. Some of these are willows, witch hazel, alder, American elm, cottonwood, ironwood, poplar, birch, beech, mulberry and maple.
Hummingbird eggs are nestled in soft fluffy fibers that hummingbirds select from nearby plants. Include plants with fuzzy foliage, like lamb’s ear (Stachys byzantine), which grows dense, ground-hugging rosettes of thick, soft, woolly leaves. The plumy sprays of ornamental grasses are also helpful in courting hummingbirds that are scouting nesting sites.
The seed heads or pods on some plants turn fuzzy balls of soft fiber or are enveloped in soft protective casings. Examples are clematis, honeysuckle, milkweed (Asclepias species) and blanket flower (Gaillardia species). Pasques provide both soft foliage draped in silken hairs, and mid-spring flowers leading into fuzzy seedpods.
Read more staggering facts about hummingbirds.
The Hummingbird’s Nest: By Species
These are the fundamentals of hummingbird nests, but there are unique features of each of these species. For decades, Hal Harrison studied hummingbird nests—here are a few things he learned.
- The female of Anna’s hummingbird constructs a simple platform as early as December to deposit her eggs. Then she adds to the nest as she incubates.
- The black-chinned hummingbird nest is a deep cup, and the rim may also curve inward.
- Blue-throated nesting hummer on electric wire inside and outside of cabins.
- Broad-billed hummingbirds will weave their much more loosely built nests on clotheslines.
- Broad-tailed hummingbirds return to the same nesting location each year.
- Calliope hummingbirds will construct a succession of two, three, four nests stacked next to each other, often affixed to a conifer cone.
- Hummingbirds of the Costa species will colonize at good sites — up to six nests within a 100-foot radius. At nesting sites, the birds are incredibly tame.
- Rivoli’s hummingbirds build the biggest and highest of North American hummingbird nests.
- Female ruby-throated hummingbirds attach their nests with spider silk to a slender twig or branch that angles downward and decorate the exterior with greenish-gray lichens. They can end up laying eggs in a second nest while still feeding the chicks in the first.
- Rufous hummingbirds, a western species, are very aggressive at the nest and will chase away much larger birds.
Do hummingbirds defend territory at feeders and flowers?
Do Hummingbirds Reuse Their Nests?
“I one day stumbled across two hummingbird nests in my tree. Are they reusing their nests, or constructing new ones?” asks Birds & Blooms reader Kriss Reiff of Grand Junction, Colorado.
“A hummingbird nest is a tiny wonder,” say birding experts Kenn and Kimberly Kaufman. The better the plant fibers and spiderwebs, the better the construction of a secure cradle for eggs and young. It is strong for its size, but the sort of nest is not durable enough for repeated occupancy.
In fact, the average hummingbird mom builds a new nest for each brood (even within the same year). She might commence building before she has finished feeding the fledged young from a previous one. Sometimes you hear about females building on top of the old nest, because the site is so good.”
Hummingbird Nesting Season
Nesting Season Brood Count
“A hummingbird mother has reused a nest in my yard three times. It was the end of January when I spotted her on the nest. They can have how many broods in one year? writes reader Nancy Sherman of Orange, Calif.
Kenn and Kimberly write: “A hummingbird coming to your area in January would either be Anna’s hummingbird or Allen’s hummingbird. Reuse of nests is an unusual practice for hummers, though Anna’s hummingbird and particularly Allen’s hummingbird are variables in this habit occasionally.
In both of these species, the females typically raise two broods a season, and may raise three broods in neighborhoods where gardens ensure a food source. There’s even a report of a female Allen’s hummingbird raising four broods — and a potential fifth — in a season.”
Then see if hummingbirds mate for life.
