Are You Watching a Hummingbird Nest?

Allen's hummingbird female

It is the last day of April and we have four active Allen's hummingbird nests in our yard. (Selasphorus sasin)

Two nests have eggs. 

Allen's hum nest in butterfly bush

Allen's hum nest high in Catalina cherry

One is in an ornamental butterfly bush (Buddleja). This nest is awfully low to the ground and poorly covered by vegetation. It is not a good location and the female will need good fortune to be successful. Her chicks may be vulnerable if summer temperatures over 100 degrees come early.

The other is high in a native Catalina cherry shrub (Prunus illcifolia). This is an excellent location.

Allen's hum chicks, 10-15 days old

'Fairy Tree' nest with hum chicks

Two of the nests have chicks. The 'Fairy Tree' nest has already seen two chicks fledge in March. The female rebuilt the nest and these two should fledge toward the end of May. 

This mother is experienced and has used this Catalina cherry as a successful location in the past.

Allen's hum nest in toyon

The fourth nest is in a native toyon.  (Are you seeing a pattern? Native shrubs are more likely to house successful hummingbird nests.)

Native plants not only provide native insects as food, they also grow at a rate similar to the growth of the chicks. Nests in fast growing ornamental plants sometimes are torn apart by the growing plant. The chicks can become homeless before they are ready to fly.

These two chicks, yes there are two tucked in close together, should fledge soon.

These four mother Allen's hummingbirds are busy. This is the second nest of the year for each of them. Two were successful the first time and two were not.

So far in 2018 that's eight Allen's hummingbird nests in our yard. I monitor my hummingbird nests for NestWatch, part of Cornell University's Citizen Science bird data program. To date, my Allen's hummingbirds are the only nests where data has been collected on the reproduction of this species in 2018. 

I know there are more of you out there watching hummingbird nests. NestWatch needs your data. Successes and failures are equally important. This year we had eggs that shriveled and a chick that died when the weather turned from unusually warm back to cold winter weather. 

Early nesting attempts can lead to failure. This is the insidious impact of warming winter temperatures. Plants and animals take signals from the weather to begin reproduction. Record warm temperatures in January can lead to chick deaths when February brings a return to cold weather and rain.

How do I spot the nests? I watch the females:

• Females gathering nesting materials will fly right back to their building locations. I put out natural nesting materials.
• Females sitting in one place with their beak angled down and making an up-and-down movement with their head are most likely nest building or feeding chicks.
• Females catching small flying insects are typically craving protein because they are about to lay or have laid eggs or are gathering protein for newly hatched chicks. Watch where they go. 
• When eggs or chicks are present females typically do not fly directly to a nest. They fly to the home bush or tree, then make several short movements approaching the nest.

Several friends, especially those on the Pacific Coast hummingbird migratory path, have told me they are seeing far fewer hummingbirds. Data will help figure out if these birds have changed their migratory path or if their numbers are declining.

Join me.  Collect data on your hummingbirds for eBird and NestWatch. The greater the data, the better the science. 

What to do with a baby bird? 

Go Count Birds - Great Backyard Bird Count

Do something romantic this weekend - Go to your favorite outdoor location and count birds. 

Friday, Feb. 14 - Monday, Feb. 17 

is the

Great Backyard Bird Count

Across four days each year, people across the country count bird species to take a snapshot of avian populations. 

• You can count for 15 minutes or longer. 
• Watch from a stationary location, like a window, take a walk in your neighborhood, or visit a park.
• Watch in your yard or even from a terrace.

I even try to count the parking-lot birds at my local coffee house at least once over the GBBC weekend. All wild birds are important. If you don't see anything, that is important too.

The Great Backyard Bird Count is one of the country's largest citizen scientist opportunities. What you count is important for scientists who study bird populations, migration, the impact of climate change, and specific species information. 

The mourning dove pictured here is typically in the top ten species list for every U.S. state. They are daily visitors to our yard. But last year, mourning doves fell off the lists for some states. Will they be back on the top ten list across the country this year? Or will they continue to decline? 

The more people that count, the greater the nationwide picture of how birds are doing. 

Check out the Great Backyard Bird Count website for more information. And GO Count!

Great Backyard Bird Count 2012

Get your binoculars!

The Great Backyard Bird Count is Coming!

Friday, February 17 - Monday, February 20

This is an opportunity to go outside and reconnect with your avian neighbors. How many crows are flying by? Are those turkey vultures circling over the Freeway? Is that a Bewick's wren making a nest in the bird house? Not only will you have fun participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count you will be contributing to our scientific understanding of the status of bird populations and movement across the continent.

So grab your birding book, your binoculars and a piece of paper. GBBC is designed for kids to participate, anyone can do it. Note the time you start watching, distance traveled, number of people watching and GO!

Click the button to enter you data at Cornell University's http://www.birdcount.org


I'll be counting at:

Saturday, Feb. 18 8 AM - 10 AM Member's Birdwalk at the LA Zoo
Monday, Feb. 20, 9 AM - 11 AM Malibu Lagoon

Missing Ladybugs

Ladybugs are insects that even a toddler can identify. Their red and black markings are distinct and their rounded shape appears nonthreatening. As predators of aphids and other garden leaf-eaters, ladybugs have one of the most positive insect profiles. Everyone loves ladybugs.

But across the country native ladybug populations are declining. What is happening to these important and beloved insects? Citizen scientists can play an important role in helping scientists sleuth out this environmental problem.

Go looking for ladybugs or just keep your eyes open and aware during your daily activities. When you see a ladybug, take its picture and report it to the Lost Ladybug Project

I spotted this ladybug on a lavender plant on December 9th. Ladybugs hibernate over the winter as adults and typically they group together in a protected location. One year we cut down a live Christmas tree and brought it into the house only to find that there were about 100 ladybugs hibernating in a clump at the center of the tree. The ladybug I took a photo of was out in the warm winter weather. (Climate Change in California) If it gets caught without a protected place to stay when the temperature turns cooler, as it is expected to do this weekend, will it survive the colder temperatures?


Scientists need your eyes to help solve this mystery of Missing Ladybugs.
Other Citizen Science Projects.

More Citizen Science Opportunities

Citizen Science projects are vastly increasing the amount of data that can be recorded across the country. More eyes means more observations of plants and animals, their occurrence, migrations, species interactions and behavior.

I am a long time participant of Cornell University's Project FeederWatch. Once a week from November to April, over a two day period, I count birds in my yard for FeederWatch. When I started to watch and document, I started to really see what species were living in my yard, who was coming for dinner, and which species migrated through. I began to really watch behavior. More on FeederWatch.



Now FeederWatch has an additional project looking at the gender balance of certain species at the feeders. Are male house finches keeping the females away?

It will be interesting to see what the data reveals. At the moment, I'm realizing that at my feeders, there does seem to be a pattern of like sexes feeding together. I never really noticed that before.

If you counted birds for Great Backyard Bird Count, you might enjoy Project FeederWatch too. It is a great way for families to participate in active science together.

Are You Ready for the Great Backyard Bird Count 2010 ?

Get out your binoculars, your walking shoes and a bird book or two.

It's time for the Great Backyard Bird Count 2010.

This Friday, Feb. 12 through Monday, Feb. 15 people across the country will be taking a few minutes out of their day to stop and count birds for science. Whether it is a long list of many species seen at a wildlife area or just two English house sparrows and a crow seen from your apartment patio, every bird list is IMPORTANT.

Even if you watch your yard and you see NO BIRDS. That is important too.

The Great Backyard Bird Count is a great way for family members of all ages to come together in an outdoor event. You enter your data via the Internet and can watch the interactive map on the website change as data comes in from across the country.

Take a minute and schedule at least 15 minutes sometime over the President's Day weekend to participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count. YES, pigeons count.

Great Backyard Bird Count

Count with a group in Los Angeles

The Backyard Biodiversity Project - Day 1

From rainforests to deserts biodiversity has become an important environmental issue. But what is biodiversity? In simple language, it means the variety of living things. Rainforests are home to many different kinds of plants and animals and therefore have great biodiversity.

But biodiversity isn’t just something that happens far away in remote or exotic places. No matter where you live, biodiversity is all around you. You are a part of it.

Whether you live in the city or the countryside, you share your environment with plants and animals. The animals may be small, the plants may be struggling to grow between cracks in concrete sidewalks, but still they are there trying to survive. Who are these neighbors we often do not notice? That is what the Backyard Biodiversity Project is all about.

Around the world biologists and botanists are documenting the types of animals and plants in distant jungles and remote badlands. In many places, they are discovering plants and creatures that no one has identified before or they are redicovering living things we thought had disappeared. But who is looking in your backyard?

Today I started documenting the plant and animal species here on one small piece of the planet.

Field Notes:
This morning Zone 17, the driveway . I thought the first species would be a plant, but right now a fox squirrel is looking at me beligerently from the zone. She is the first living thing recorded on this first day – an alien species, aggressive and thriving. Above me a mourning dove watches from the phone line, calm, native and wondering what I'm doing on the driveway on my hands and knees looking at snail shells and spider webs. It's a good start.