I was mistaken when I told you earlier that the sunbirds flew away after building their nest. Actually the female has been coming back regularly and sits contentedly in the nest. She must have laid some eggs.
But the opening to the nest is very small and I cannot see any eggs. I was much tempted to shine a torchlight into it and take a peep, but was afraid it might frighten her away for good.
This has been going on for several days. So, any day now, we can expect the babies to come into the world. Let’s hope that this time, everything will be fine.
Below are some pictures that I have taken. As you can see, the nest looks quite delicate and I am quite worried that the wind may blow it down one of these days.
The nest was built at the bottom of a pot of air plant (Bromeliade) which is hanging from a lamp fixture in a narrow balcony just outside one of our bedrooms (left side of nest). As you can see, it is practically within arm's reach.
Meanwhile, in our backyard, it is guava season, and I managed to catch a couple of yellow-vented bulbuls doing ‘naughty’ things.
Do you see his partner on the right? (above photo)
This chap looks like he too wants in on the action.
3 comments:
Fantastic photo of the sunbird peeping out of the nest did you have to wait for long to get it?
John H
No John. Because the nest is just outside my son's bedroom window, as you can see from the new photo I just added. Especially these past few days, she spends a lot of time (presumably) hatching her eggs. As long as we don't make too much noise or any sudden movements, it will not fly off.
In fact, I was very surprised why it chose such a location, so near to much human activity. But I have read that sunbirds like to build their nests near to human activity as it discourages predators.
Interesting read on sunbirds. Now I know why I've had sunbirds making nests in my verandah (I live in an apartment). I guess that's a safe bet from predators - and I thought it was because of my success in turning my humble verandah into a garden paradise! But it could also explain why they recently abandoned a nest they were working so hard on - we've had a lot of pigeons around the area lately and I think the poor sunbirds felt intimidated or threathened.
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