03.07.2020 We've got two eggs!

Frances laid two eggs, two days apart. It’s amazing to know that birds can hold off incubation until the entire clutch is ready to cook - then they hatch together. If all goes well, we should meet these little chicks in 15 – 18 days. Juvenile hummingbirds fledge (leave the nest) 18 to 28 days after hatching (according to birdsandblooms.com)

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Two eggs for 2020! The first came on 3/5/2020 and the second came on 3/7/2020.

On the day she laid the second egg, she was gone for a few hours. I’d love to learn more about the hummingbird egg laying process. As tiny as these are, I can only imagine how uncomfortable it would feel to be FULL of egg before it’s ready.

I guess I can imagine it, actually. I was quite FULL of baby before each of mine popped out.

The nights were super cold as she sat on these little guys. The kids and I were scraping the windshield in the mornings before driving to school, and looking over at her little body and tiny eggs in the freezing air.

I put our dryer lint out on the porch for her to select from if she decided it was nest-worthy, and she took plenty.

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I’ve since learned that dryer lint isn’t the best option for nests - as it doesn’t hold up well in the rain and can be full of chemicals from detergents and dryer sheets. Luckily, we use natural soap and wool dryer balls, so I hope we’re safe. Frances picked a protected spot that never gets rained on, either. She’s a pretty smart Mama.

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So cozy!

If you’d like to read up on what’s safe to offer our feathered friends during nesting season, check out this article from the Audubon Society for more information. It feels good to be helpful and lend Mama a hand, but we’ve got to be smart and do our research.

I’ve added a couple of shorter video highlights of Frances doing her thing. If you’ve got some extra time and would like to watch 33 uninterrupted minutes in the life of Frances, I’ve got you covered. Enjoy!

Frances is building up her nest and sealing it all it's parts with spider silk.

Here's 33 unedited minutes in the life of Frances.

In this video, she's watching over two eggs and building up her nest while they "cook.".