Lichens and spider webs

When I was on a three-hour walk with friends on February 23rd, at Griffith Woods, someone happened to notice this tiny, old Hummingbird nest hanging from a very low Spruce branch. So beautifully made. In a photo I posted a few days ago, a friend was holding a $10 bill for someone else to take a photo and, though I usually never add something for size in any of my photos, I thought it might work for that one. The photo above is a closer look at this amazingly built nest. The inside of it is about the size of half a walnut shell.

This is a link to a short video from YouTube, of Hummingbirds from "egg" to when they actually leave the nest. Amazes me that they don't poke each others' eyes out with those long, thin beaks! Photographing nests and nesting birds is frowned upon by many people/birders, so hopefully this video was taken with a very powerful zoom lens. Hummingbirds sometimes return to use the same nest. They build their tiny nests from spider webs, soft cottony material, moss and plant fibres, and hang beautiful lichens from the spider webs. The elasticity of the spider silk allows the nest to expand beautifully to accommodate the growing young in the nest. The typical hummingbird nest is tiny, about the size of half a walnut shell! Nature is so amazing!

youtu.be/gG59PaCiiDg

youtu.be/AcyjOgKvx88

birding.about.com/od/birdhouses/a/hummingbirdnests.htm