Hummingbirds in the Rain

We had a tropical storm hit us today in Palm Desert, CA. Rain or shine, hummingbirds don't mind the rain.

Butterflies & Hummingbirds - Palm Desert, CA

Click on the following for: High Definition

The Living Desert is one of my favorite places to visit with family and friends. The above video was filmed at the Fanciful Flyers, an exhibit filled with butterflies and hummingbirds.

Music: Elysian Fields
Pond5.com

Palm Canyon, East Fork Loop Hike - Palm Springs, CA

We enjoyed last weeks hike, the Andreas and the Murray Canyon Trail, so much that we decided to do the Palm Canyon, East Fork Loop this Thursday. This was a 7.5 mile loop hike that took us 3.5 hours to complete. It was 1,100 feet total elevation change and we rated this hike moderate because of a few areas of rock climbing.

We drove up to the Trading Post at the Indian Canyons, Aqua Caliente Indian Reservation. Just before we started our trek we stopped to watch a lot of hummingbirds at several large feeders. In the above video you will see some really closeup shots of these fearless tiny birds fending for their food against competing bees. We were so amazed that they were not afraid of the bees or getting their pictures taken.

The Palm Canyon hike was just as beautiful as last weeks trek but a lot longer. The trails lead to beautiful desert scenery and it was hard to imagine we were so close to civilization. Watch the above video and enjoy watching hummingbirds and the magnificent fan palms and more.

Click on above image to view more pictures of hummingbirds

Click on above image to view more pictures of our hike

Length: 7.5 mile loop

Hiking Time: 3.5 hour

Elevation Gain: 1100 feet

Difficulty: Moderate

Hummingbird Nest in A Wind Chime - Final Episode

It's been a long and fun journey following these baby hummers from the egg to full grown. Here is the final conclusion of the "Hummingbird Nest in A Wind Chime." To watch all 13 episodes from the beginning Click Here.

Music by Kevin MacLeod

Hummingbirds in a Wind Chime -July 12th 2009

The baby hummingbirds, called George and Trudy, are fully grown and soon will leave their nest. Here is some footage of them on July 12th and 13th. Sorry for the delay posting this video, for those who are following the Hummingbird Nest in A Wind Chime. One more to follow.

Music by Kevin MacLeod
Filmed by George La'Flamme and edit by Linda McClure

How the Hummingbirds were being Filmed

I filmed this short clip with my iPhone on Sunday, July 12th. More footage of the baby hummingbirds will follow (I'm a little behind). To watch the baby hummers from the beginning click on the following link: Hummingbird Nest In A Wind Chime

It was fortunate that the hummingbird decided to build her nest on my neighbor's wind chime. My neighbor, George, already had a web cam directed at their front door and was able to redirect the cam to the nest. The web cam streamed live video to a picture in a picture on their big screen TV.

To get better quality footage, I loaned George my HD camcorder and tripod which he set up in their spare bedroom with a bull's eye view of the nest without disturbing the birds. While my neighbor was watching the golf tournament he kept one eye on the hummers and was able to start the camcorder whenever any significant action occurred.

So Ray from Alameda, stay tuned...

Hummingbirds In A Windchime - July 9 2009

Just keeping a daily video journal of the hummingbirds. Not much change in the last couple of days. Here are short video clips of the baby hummers from yesterday and today. I heard the mama hummingbird nearby so I made it brief. Soon the babies will leave their nest.

Hummingbird In A Wind Chime - July 7th 2009

Yesterday, one of the birds looked a lot smaller then the other. Today both birds look like the same size. That's a mystery to me, but I'm so relieved that both are doing well. The baby hummingbirds will soon be on their own. I estimated that the birds will leave their nest around July 13th. They almost look too big for their nest now.

The two birds were named Trudy & George. Named after my neighbor and his sister who are also twins.

Hummingbird In A Wind Chime - July 6th 2009

Getting a little concerned about one of the baby hummingbirds. Just noticed today that one is smaller then the other. I hope it survives.

Playlist - Baby Hummingbirds Journal

Hummingbirds in a Wind Chime - July 3rd 2009

The baby hummingbirds are 11 days old today. Haven't been able to see the mama bird feed the babies until this morning. I filmed a brief shot of her feeding the little ones, however, the footage is pixelated because I was too far away. I wasn't going to include this in the video because the footage looked bad, but better then nothing.

Baby hummingbirds usually leave their nest after 3 weeks. So I'm guessing these little hummers will leave their nest around July 13.

Hummingbirds - 6 Days Old

The little hummingbirds in the wind chime are now six days old. When I filmed the above footage, the mother bird wasn't around. I suppose she was out shopping for baby food because the little birds had their beaks wide open.

The wind was blowing this evening causing the wind chimes to bounce all around as you can see in the above video. I was so worried the little birds would fall out of their nest. However, the wind finally calmed down and all is well.

Enlarge the video by clicking on the bottom far right next to the HD button to get a better view.

Two Days Old - Baby Hummingbirds

Two baby hummingbirds just two days old. I zoomed the lens on my camcorder and brightened the video to get a closer and clearer look of the little birds in the nest.

Enlarge the screen by clicking on the little box far right next to the HD button on the bottom of the player window.

Hummingbird Egg Hatched Today!

Well it finally happened! There were two hummingbird eggs in the nest and today, one of the eggs hatched. I had to film real fast before the mother returned to her nest. Watch the above brief video clip of the tiny baby hummingbird one day old.

Costa's Hummingbird

Today, I went to check on the hummingbird eggs this afternoon when I spotted a male hummingbird on my neighbor's patio. The little hummingbird looked like its feathers were molting or maybe the bird was sick. It had a beautiful shade of purple feathers on the side of its neck. After researching on the internet, I discovered it was a Costa's hummingbird.

Meanwhile, the hummingbird on the wind chime is still sitting in the nest keeping her eggs warm. I'll keep you posted if anything new happens.

Hummingbird - June 16 2009

Looks like the hummingbird eggs are still intact. The mama is still sitting on her nest keeping the eggs nice and warm. I'll keep checking every couple of days to see when the eggs hatch (don't know when the eggs were first there). Normally, the incubation process takes 16 to 18 days to hatch from start to finish.

Hummingbird Nest - June 11 2009

Keeping a video diary for the La Flammes. Looks like they're going to have twins! I love the unique hummingbird chime. I think the mother felt safe building her nest on it because of the hummingbird artwork image. She's one classy hummingbird!

For best results, view video in large screen.

Hummingbird Nest in a Wind Chime

Deja vu! Looks like we have another hummingbird who built a nest on a wind chime. Only it's not a golfer wind chime like the one I filmed a couple of years ago here. My neighbor, George, told me he just noticed it today when he walked outside their front door.

It was breezy this afternoon and the little hummingbird in the nest was bouncing all around at the end of a spring holding the nest and chimes. It's amazing the little bird doesn't get motion sickness, I know I would!

To be continued...

Baby Hummingbirds - The First 21 Days

Here I compiled all the footage of the baby hummingbirds from the beginning to the time they left their nest. Also, added some pleasant background music to finish the project. Hope you like it!

Music: Eternal Hope
by: Kevin MacLeod

Special thanks to Jim and Suzy Viano for letting me film the nest outside their home.

Mother Hummingbird Feeding Her Babies

I got lucky yesterday evening when I found the mother hummingbird feeding her babies. I wished I had my tripod with me, the video is a little shakey.

My plan is to film the babies until they grow up and fly away. I have a lot of good footage I haven't posted yet that I will eventually use to make a complete movie with background music. The following are short clips of the hummingbirds I posted so far on Vimeo and here:

Hummingbird in a Nest
Eggs Hatched Today - Baby Hummingbirds

So stay tuned, more to come!

The Hummingbird Eggs Hatched!

My neighbor called me today to let me know that the baby hummingbird eggs were hatching. By the time I got there the second egg had already hatched. Here's a short glimpse of the little birds. Watch the video.

I couldn't stay long because the mother was shooing me away. She was very upset with me and I don't blame her. She actually pecked at my golf visor and told me to leave NOW!!!!!

Watch the above video. Also see previous video Hummingbird In A Nest

To be continued...