What to Know
- Watch a livestream from a celebrated and enduring SoCal hummingbird nest
- Two chicks just hatched at the start of May
- The nest is described as being about half the size of a golf ball
Encountering a hummingbird can be quite the ethereal experience, but it tends to be brief, over in a flash, as the small flyer flits onto the next set of shrubs and you're left to crane your neck in order to get one more quick glimpse.
The chance, then, to gaze in an unhurried fashion upon a hummingbird, in a live way, is pretty rare. And rarer still? If a nest, and a few hummingbirdlings, are involved in your sighting.
But explore.org is delivering that uplifting and unusual experience to our screens this spring, via a camera in La Verne. It's trained on Bella's nest, a wee but snug pocket made for rearing some of the smallest birds around.
The story behind this sweet sight?
"These hummingbirds have been nesting in the branches of a ficus tree in La Verne, California since at least 2005," reveals the explore.org page.
The hummingbird is "... raising up to four to five broods every year, in a nest the about size of half a golf ball. Each of her precious eggs are slightly bigger than a Tic Tac. After about two and a half weeks, the eggs hatch and the tiny little chicks will begin exploring the world."
Check in soon and see the third of Bella's clutches for the season. Two chicks just hatched near the start of the month, with Mira arriving on May 3 and Marley on May 6.
And one interesting tidbit? "All hummingbirds who use the nest are Bella," reveals explore.org.
When will you next see a hummingbird on the street, in your yard, enjoying the flowers on your balcony?
It's a flitting and fast moment, an enjoy-it-now kind of thing. But next time you do see the darting delight, ponder the nest it once hailed from, wherever that nest was, and how the bird began life in a pocket that's about half the size of a golf ball.
