The Bella Hummingbird Nest Camera is located in La Verne, California and switches between the nest and a feed camera. The owners of the cameras have enjoyed watching female hummingbirds nest and raise their offspring in their ficus trees since around 2005. They installed a webcam and started streaming in 2012.
The camera’s namesake, Bella, is a female Allen’s Hummingbird and continues to nest in the tree throughout this day, according to BellaHummingbird.com.
Where do Allen’s hummingbirds live?
Allen’s hummingbirds live in scrubby canyons, gardens, and parks along the Pacific coast of the United States and Mexico. Allen’s hummingbird is one of two common hummingbird species that nest in Northern California gardens, explains the National Audubon website. The other is Anna’s hummingbird.
What is the habitat of Allen’s hummingbirds?
The habitat of the Allen’s Hummingbird changes depending on the time of year.
The species breeds in semi-open areas, such as streamside thickets, wooded suburbs and city parks, the National Audubon website says. After breeding, male and female birds separate; males head for more open areas and females seek covered areas to build nests, says AllAboutBirds.org.
Allen’s migratory hummingbirds in Mexico live in oak and pine forests and flowering brushy glades.
Where do Allen’s hummingbirds nest?
Female Allen’s hummingbirds build nests about an inch long in trees and shrubs. The bird glues cobwebs and fluff of willows and sunflowers together for the inner part of the nest and weaves grass, moss, leaves and lichen for the outer part. It takes between one and two weeks for the bird to complete the construction of each nest.
Allen’s hummingbirds typically have 1-3 broods per year. They will build new tests on top of old ones or use materials from an old nest to build in a new location.
The incubation period for eggs is two to three weeks, and the newborn birds will remain in the nest for 22 to 25 days.
What is the range of Allen’s hummingbirds?
The Allen’s hummingbird’s range extends as far north as the southern part of Oregon during the breeding season, which begins in early spring. For the winter, the birds migrate south to Mexico.
According to AllAboutBirds.org, populations of Allen’s Hummingbird live year-round in the Channel Islands and southern California.
Visit eBird.org to see real-time locations of Allen’s Hummingbird sightings.
What do Allen’s hummingbirds eat?
Allen’s hummingbirds primarily eat insects and nectar. They will also visit feeders that offer sugar-water mixtures.
Hummingbirds prefer red tubular flowers like penstemon, red monkey flower and red columbine, says the National Audubon website. The birds will hover and extend their beaks deep into the flower to reach the nectar.
The species catches insects in flight or by hovering over plants. It will also eat spiders or insects caught in cobwebs.
What is the best hummingbird feeder?
The best type of hummingbird feeder is one that visiting hummingbirds can empty every one or two days and that is easy to clean, as AllAboutBirds.org explains. Bacteria and mold thrive on sugar water, so hummingbird feeders should be cleaned every few days and more so in hot weather. The filler hole should be large enough to fit a bottle brush through and you should be able to scrub every crevice.
Hummingbirds can be very territorial, so it’s often better to use more feeders with fewer ports than a single feeder with many ports.
Visit AllAboutBirds.org to learn more about hummingbird feeding.
Tips and Techniques for Taking Photos of Hummingbirds
How Hummingbirds Fly
