Breeze & Clover Hummingbird, Heddy’s chicks on the Ivy Hummingbird nest have fledged! The 25-day-old pair had been practicing their wing-strokes for the past few days, then took off to a nearby branch, leaving the nest for the first time. They most likely won’t return to the nest but mama Heddy will spend the next 2 weeks caring for them, feeding them, helping them learn their way around and eventually how to feed themselves. Then Heddy will be free to start a new nest.
According to Ivy Hummingbird’s host, “the amazing thing about so many birds is that flying is easy compared to feeding themselves. They learn how to fly first and leave the nest where they are more vulnerable to predation than among the leaves. Then they have to follow and observe their parents to learn how to eat. The exception are fowl like ducks. They know how to eat right away, but it takes a while for them to fly.”
