BASICS


BASICS: "Hummingbirds.....where is the person, I ask, who, on observing this glittering fragment of the rainbow, would not pause, admire, and turn his mind with reverence..." (J. J. Audubon).
This is a blog about my summer life at the Baiting Hollow Hummingbird Sanctuary, at my winter garden, Calypso, in the Bahamas, and aspects of life in general.
This private sanctuary is now permanently closed to the general public, as a result of a lawsuit brought by a neighbor. Only my friends and personal guests may visit (paul.adams%stonybrook.edu).

Monday, March 3, 2014

Babies even bigger, video in the nest and of Gumbo feeding them




Today Gumbo's 2 babies are even bigger, and filling two thirds of the nest. The above video shows a view down into the nest. The babies are dark brown, still only have a few wispy feathers, and keep their stubby beaks well hidden - except when Mom arrives, and they start clamoring for food. They seem to keep their heads tucked away while Gumbo is away foraging for insects, and they are breathing quite rapidly.


In the above video, Gumbo arrives from the left, hovers briefly near the nest, flies a short distance to the right (out of view) then decides it's safe and lands on the rim of the nest. Immediately the 2 chicks pop up their short beaks, begging for food. But at first Gumbo looks carefully around, before starting to feed them. It's amazing how deeply she inserts her long bill into their gullet. The whole process is rather alarming, but apparently it works, and is much more precise than it looks - the chicks are thriving. It looks as though their eyes have not opened yet. After the feeding Gumbo sits on the babies, though now, because of their increased size, it takes a while for her to get comfortable. I have another even more detailed video, but because uploading monopolizes bandwidth, I'll upload it tomorrow.

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