Aryana Hummingbird Lays Her Second Egg of the 2024 Nesting Seasonhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMpsUodMmZc&t=19sJan 14, 2024
Aryana is an Allen's Hummingbird who lives year-'round in the coastal area of Laguna Niguel, California. She built this nest in a Gartenmeister Fuchsia.
After sitting low in the nest for several minutes , Aryana lifts herself onto the uppermost edge of the interior nest wall. She stabilizes herself by gripping the nest fluff with her tiny talons. When she starts "laboring," her back end is elevated. She flares, lifts, and wiggles her tail quite a bit while she's pushing it out, and then appears to "collapse" into the nest bowl when she's finished. It's an effortful labor--she's wobbly and loses her grip a couple of times. Completely normal, given that she's pushing out an egg that's roughly 25% of her own body weight.
Hummingbirds begin the incubation process after laying the second egg.* She spins her eggs with her feet and beak to keep the egg membranes from sticking to the shell. She may leave the nest to forage for her own nourishment, collect additional nesting materials, and/or chase away curious onlookers and/or predators. Our regional weather is a balmy 60-some degrees Fahrenheit, and she blankets her eggs with her "brood patch" while she sits on her nest.
*By delaying incubation, both chicks will hatch very close together, develop at the same rate, and fledge within a similar timeframe.
1st Egg was laid at 6:49 a.m. Pacific on Friday, January 12, 2024.
2nd Egg was laid at 6:58 a.m. Pacific on Sunday, January 14, 2024.
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Topic: Aryana Hummingbird, Laguna Niguel, California (Read 37089 times)