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9:20am

Bless her heart .. she is tired.... laying an egg is hard work........ love her full crop


Hey Yolande... AWesome scaps..... i am soo happy you were here also................Sorry.. you miss it Kay.....have a good breakfast...

8:53:26am the egg!




8:53:30am
Phoebe tucks in the egg


Phoebe rested in the nest from 8:53am to 9:10am, then off she went.

9:31am
Close up of the eggs...

Hard to believe... they are are so tiny....Tic Tac size.....

Thank you Mr Pungh for this Cam..

9:37am Phoebe has her back to us incubating the eggs



I have to go..... BBS..Love the close up of the egg Yolande...................

11:21 am

Phoebe has been back and forth several times bringing what looks like tiny cotton balls to tuck into the nest. I'm not fast enough to catch her with a ball at the end of her beak - but it is cute. She also got a bit close to something, I think (maybe spider web, which I think is another component of the nest) - note the white spot at the base of her beak.

11:58am
Thank you Judy B.... Yes the white material is what we call fluff... bits of plant life , dryer lint,leaf hairs...and she uses the spider webs.. to reinforce the nest making it secure,.... it is like a glue... so to speak... allowing the nest to stretch and be flexible as the baby hummingbirds grow.... spider webs are also great to repair the nest later when the kids do what do kids...
It is fascinating isn't it....

THose white spots at the base of her beak...I know what they are...... i will try to remember or find out ..a lot of hummers have them..??Pigmentation.

Did you notice the little bits of plant material on the outside of the nest.... Phoebe uses them to camouflage her nest as much as possible.... she makes sure the lighter parts of the nest are in the sun...and the darker parts are in the shade.. to blend in with the surroundings..neat huh!

Phoebe is rolling her eggs.. we can see her body wiggling a lot.... while her talons are gripping the floor of the nest....

She moves all around /making sure her brood patch is on the eggs.....

Then she is restful incubating her eggs....

I asked about Phoebe's white markings at the base of her beak on the chat... this is what i found out.

The patches are Leucistic Albinism, the Leucistic meaning that it can be new feathers, not wide spread and is probably not related to genetics...

Mr Pungh came on line... and said.. they are just her markings...and it is common in hummingbirds..

ANd this is the best news.... you were right Yolande about her beak...........

Mr Pungh said she is fefinitely the same Phoebe as last year.... she never left.......


Leucistic...

HERE

Here is Mr Pungh's video of Phoebe laying her second egg


HERE

Thank you Mr Pungh..


1:14pm

I watched Phoebe going back and forth..... adding fluff to the nest bowl... rolling her eggs and incubating them... she is a busy little Mama.....

What a sweetie

1:57pm
It is that time of day when the sun is shinning on the nest and the two precious eggs

1:59pm
I miss Phoebe returning.... she is so beautiful incubating her eggs.....with the sun casting a golden glow on her..her beautiful iridescent colors come alive....
.

So fascinating to watch. It is so rare to see a hummingbird that is not flying. That little body shows the labour process so well! I really enjoyed the video!