With the onset of spring, eagle and heron nests in Sequim are the most noticeable to find, as long as you know where to look. But searching for hummingbird nests is another story…you can search forever it seems and completely overlook them although they’re right before your eyes. Therefore, it can be rather discouraging.
But that’s when likeminded friends become your greatest allies. And that’s why I was so thrilled and appreciative when a newfound friend approached me and asked if I’d be interested in photographing a nest she found in her tree.
It didn’t take long before I showed up in her driveway with my collection of lenses. And to my surprise, the nest was in close enough range to allow for an intimate portrait of these two siblings, who I can only hope will survive, thrive, and call Sequim their home for many years to come, just like many of us.
Peggy, I’ve found a great way to increase your chances of finding a hummer nest. Go out in January/February,along the back roads, by the marshes, and find some cattail punks from last year. Break off a couple with 2-foot long stems. Take them home, tie them singly or in a group to a 4’ or 5’garden stake. “Plant” the stake in the ground outside, maybe close to your nectar feeder, where you can see it from a window where you watch birds. Hummingbirds will come to the cattails to take the fuzz for building their nests. When they fly off, you can watch what direction they go, and after watching a couple of round trips, you can often find the tree, or narrow down the area where they are building their nest. This often requires me to be outside for the later flights toward the nest area, as they often to go around a corner of the house and out of sight on their flight to the nest tree. This has worked several times for me here in Sunny Sequim and I’ve been able to watch the nest-building and then photograph their nesting progress and fledging. I couldn’t find a way to attach a photo of the stake with the cattail punks. If you send me your email, I’ll be happy to send you a photo.
Oh my, you really know your birds, Gary! I’m impressed by your technique for tracking down nests, and as of this afternoon, I have 4 cattails that I plan to put in place tomorrow. However, since my neighbor took down his holly tree, I’m not sure the nest will be close enough for me to photograph. I’ll see how it goes though and I’ll be sure to give you updates in the days ahead. And again, thank you for your input and please continue to share any birding tips you think may be helpful. I wish you could upload a photo too, but as far as I can tell, it doesn’t appear to be possible…yet.
What a wonderful photo! Last year I had the great privilege and pleasure to have a hummingbird nest about 15 feet from my window, and to watch the parents feed the two chicks and watch the two fledge (it happened so fast I barely saw it!). My photos were nowhere near as this amazing, though.
Thank you, Allie! I’m so glad to hear that you had a similar experience with nest watching, and that you got some photos as well. Don’t be hard on yourself though, getting good photos with leaves, branches and other distractions in the way is tough, and without a substantial zoom lens, the bird may either takeoff or dive bomb you. But aside from that, I’m happy you enjoyed mine! 🤗