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Building a hummingbird nest, a complicated business

Every year after migrating to breeding grounds (for those hummingbirds that migrate), a hummingbird’s first order of business is to eat. After refilling their energy supplies and meeting up with a fella, the female hummingbirds will immediately start to build a nest.

When building a hummingbird nest, the female hummingbird must choose the perfect location. She is looking for a place that is well off the ground to prevent predators like ants, snakes, and predatory birds. Plus, the nest must be sheltered from wind to prevent baby hummingbirds being thrown from the nest in a wind storm.

She will need a good sold base like in a “Y” or crossed branches of a tree or bush. A place with leaves over top to shelter from rain and sun is ideal because if the nest gets above 96 degrees Fahrenheit the little hummingbird eggs will be too hot to hatch.

Female hummingbirds will need nesting material to make her nest. She likes to use nice soft material like moss and lichen. She also likes to use cotton fluffs, bits of willows, soft plant pieces, dryer lint, and leaf hairs. She will bring these items back to her nest a little at a time, gluing it all together with spider webs. The spider webs make terrific glue for the nest, allowing the nest to stretch and be flexible as the baby hummingbirds grow. The spider webs also make it easier for the mother hummingbird to repair the nest when damaged or when kids do what kids do. While building the nest, the female hummingbird will try to camouflage it as much as possible by using small sticks, seeds, and plant pieces to shade the outside of the nest. She will make sure the lighter parts of the nest are in the sun, while the darker parts of the nest are in the shade, blending it in with the surroundings.

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Photo credit: ©Jimer DeVries

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