Last week, when I was shooting my macro photos of flowers around my office, I stumbled across something even more interesting. At first, I, along with the majority of my co-workers, thought it was some kind of strange spiderweb. But later, I found out it was something much more exciting and beautiful.

Springtime brings the most
amazing things to us right
outside our front door



She sits on her nest
waiting patiently for them
to hatch underneath

The first is early
or perhaps the second late
soon we shall find out



Two days later she,
proud mother, has two little
babies in her care



She hovers above
watching carefully as I
observe her children

While she looks for food
awaiting her return are
open, happy mouths

She returns bringing
them food, nourishment so that
soon they will be strong

She treasures this time
to love them, knowing one day
they will fly away
UPDATE 5 March: I have yet to capture really great video (so far, everything is fuzzy), but once I do, I will add it my new I captured my first short video of the babies: Inside a Hummingbird Nest with Babies. They were kind of sleepy, so I will keep trying to get more active videos and post them to my account, Leilaniana @ Youtube.
Haiku enhanced photography inspired by Phaiku – Picture Haiku.



WOW ! These pictures are amazing ! And I love the Haiku !
I’m going to come again later today.
I bet you’ve been itching to get this post done. I think some of those shots took you a bit to actually get. Thanks for doing it, never seen the inside of a hummingbird nest before. Heh, never seen a hummingbird nest period.
Keep having fun with that camera, the shots you’re getting are great. Cheers!
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Beautiful…I didn’t know hummingbird nests looked like that…
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This is the first time i am seeing the nest of a humming bird. The photos are beautiful
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Beautiful photos. Did you take those images? It’s amazing to see them in the nesting process. The circle of life before our eyes.
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@Jaffer: Thanks! I got the inspiration from Phaiku, a site where they post photos and a related haiku.
@Wayne: Since I started taking the photos last week on Wednesday, yes. But if I had posted so soon, I would’ve missed out on getting to include the babies, so the patience paid off.
@Yoga: Neither did I. When I sent the photo to my mom, she thought someone needed to get the poor bird out of the spider’s web. I had to look up hummingbird nests on Google to get some peace of mind that it was a nest, not a trap.
@Madhur: Me too. Thanks!
@Gennaro: Yes, I’ve been taking pictures since last week. It is a great thing to behold.
Absolutely! Wonderful shots, and worth the wait!
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Those photos are fabulous! Isn’t it amazing to see how they care for their young? Years ago, we had a nest outside our front door. I didn’t want to use the front door because I didn’t want to upset their nest. The mom took care of her babies so well. Later, I was in the backyard and the mother was almost right in front of my face and it was almost like she was thanking me for not disturbing them. It might sound silly but I just always remember that.
@Wayne: Thanks!
@Debbie: I have been really careful about not touching too close to the nest. I haven’t used the flash, so I don’t scare any of them. And the mother has flown close by me sometimes when I’m taking pictures, but not in an “I’m going to attack you” kind of way, so I feel like we’ve somehow bonded. So I know that silly feeling.
Oh wow, a hummingbird nest! It surely is a beautiful thing. You got some great pics, as usual.
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Hi Kristi!
Wow what an amazing find indeed! I can’t believe you got such great detail of the hummingbird, usually they are so hard to capture.
And what a piece of work their nest is – that is amazing. I have never seen one, nor would have I guessed it belonged to a hummingbird.
Great shots Kristi!
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Beautiful! Thanks for the reminder that warmer days are right around the corner.
These are great photos that tell a great story. Thank you for sharing and I am looking forward to seeing the video. Once again, nice shooting.
Chris
http://www.the-cameraeye.com
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The nest does look like a spider web, I just Googled how they build their nests and aparently they use pieces of plants and often cobwebs. I guess the cobwebs act like a sticky tape to stick it all together with. Did you have to climb a tree to get the pictures or does the office look down on the nest?
Amazing pictures! I really thought it was some kind of spider web or even something the spider cought and constricted in his web. It really doesn’t look like a nest. It was disguisting at first but then turned out to be cute. Great find.
Your photos look great
Hummingbirds are amazing
creatures of wonder.
Thanks for sharing!
@Tonya: Thanks!
@Evita: It’s the first time I have seen a hummingbird still. Usually they are zipping around everywhere. It’s fascinating just to watch them so peaceful.
@Sandra: Yep… spring is almost here.
@Chris: I have one video up now on http://youtube.com/leilaniana, and I already have another one I am going to upload today.
@khaled: It’s actually in a small tree, right at my eye level. Using cobwebs make sense.. as windy as it sometimes gets, it should just stick to the branch.
@tom: When I first saw it, I did think it was a spiderweb, and I was terrified at the thought of how big that spider must have been to create something this intricate. I’m very happy I was wrong. And now that I’ve looked at it so often, I notice the cuter things about the nest, like the little flowers and feathers wound up around it.
@Sean: Thanks for the haiku comment! That is really good!
You must have a lot of patience to get those shots. I’ve never seen a hummingbird in person before. We put out a sugar water feeder last year but never had a hummingbird visit. We’ll try again this year.
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When we lived on the Dungeness River in Washington State, we would have the humming birds tapping on the windows when the feeder went empty. We would sit on the porch and they would just buzz around not even minding us. At times you could see 20+ at once.
Now, in Las Vegas we have a feeder outside the kitchen window & have a constant stream of hummies. They mostly nest in the bushes out in the desert lot next to us. I always love to see the babies come to feed.
I have never seen the babies in a nest so, your pictures and video are super cool.
Thanks for sharing them.
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Used to see these sometimes while out on the trail doing field work (I’m an ex archaeologist), it still amazes me how fast they are. Very nice pictures of them by the way, I’ve never been able to get such a clear one!
Floyd
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@Brian: These shots cover the span of almost a full week, and I’ve been keeping up with them ever since. So it’s really just a few shots a day, at various times to catch them doing something different.
@Sheryl: I used to have a feeder, but never managed to be outside when one was using it. I guess this makes up for all those times I wanted to get up close to one.
@Floyd: Fortunately, she’s always sitting or staying still when she’s by her nest, or watching from the tree nearby.
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This is amazing! I’ve never really had a chance to see a hummingbird in real life, maybe only a couple times and very briefly. Seeing these great pictures and seeing the nest is truly amazing. Thank you for sharing this.
Wow! What an amazing set of pictures.
Thanks for the great pictures! ~ Steve, the trade show guru
We have hummingbirds around here, and I love watching them, but I’ve never thought about where they would live. Now I’ve got to go look around and see if I can find any nests. This also reminds me I need to refill our hummingbird feeder!
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@John: I love brownies. I stay away from them because they are quite addicting. One brownie could lead to many.
@Jeff: This is the first time I’ve ever gotten so close to one. And getting to see the babies has been amazing.
@Steve: The mother usually hangs out in the trees nearby a nest, so if you see one that consistently sits in a tree, chances are, her nest is in a neighboring tree. Good luck in your searches.
See the parental care of animals,wow!You’ll say motherly,I think,perhaps!Haiku complements the photos and vice versa.Delightful post.Thank you very much,dear Kristi.
@DO FOLLOW:Raining down a million friends ? wow!
I love this post as I like to be closed with nature~ ^@^
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Wow…what amazing photos! And the poetry is just sublime…lovely post!
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Wow…your unbelievable Kristi. I can’t imagine your hard works to take all of those shots. Your photos remind me of how wonderful nature is. Thank you for sharing your arts with us!
It’s really nice to have those little creatures right outside your front door.
beautiful capture and amazing haiku! loved it!
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