Today, we were very pleased to discover a second hummingbird egg in the nest in our playground.
By our calculations, the mother hummingbird must have laid it 3 – 5 days after the first. We knew that the Bahama Woodstar usually lays 2 eggs so we have been looking out, and hoping for a second egg to appear.
There had been much discussion by the children, parents and teachers alike as to whether we thought she would lay 2 eggs in succession, on the same day, or if there would be a gap between lays. Our close observations have answered our theories.
Over the past few days, it has been difficult to take a look to see if a second egg has been laid. We are very conscious not to scare or disturb the hummingbird by getting too close, so I have only been able go near and see the inside of the nest when she flys away from it. When she was building the nest, she was frequently flying back and forth for food and for nest building supplies. Since laying the first egg, she has been sitting on and incubating and protecting it for long periods of time, making it harder for me to approach and take a photo to show everyone.
Before the eggs were laid, we don’t think she stayed on the nest overnight, as she wasn’t ever seen after sundown. Now, since laying the eggs, she has been seen sitting on the nest for much longer periods of time, and way past sundown. Does she stay in the nest all night long to keep her two eggs warm and safe? Perhaps a late night inspection would answer our latest question? Let me know if you want to volunteer to be a nightwatchman!
We are still hoping that the first egg will hatch before the end of term next week, closely followed by his brother or sister. Keep checking our blog for regular updates.