Mama feeding Babette on Day 8

The unhatched egg is taking up lots of Babette's room in the nest. You know what I'm thinking don't you? Should I take the egg out to make more room? What do you think?

Doing inventory on my backpacking gear.

I'm going to use my McHale backpack again this year when I hike. Today I took everything out, checked inside all the bags, made changes and additions and have everything out on my bedroom floor.



Orange bag closest: I'll start hiking with my Hubba Tent from MSR. It's heavier than the Tarpent by a pound but because it is a double walled tent it'll prevent sand from being blown inside the tent while in New Mexico.

Next: Marmot Helium sleeping bag.

3rd: Thermarest: http://www.thermarest.com/product_detail.aspx?pID=89&cID=1

Day 6 of Baby Babette's life.

Today is the first day I have seen the Baby lift its head like this to feed. What a rush. And relief. Phew.



Mama flew back to her nest after I disturbed her and assumed this body language. See her spread tail feathers? I think she was trying to hide her nest from view to protect her Baby.

Mama is feeding Baby #1

Yeah! A half hour ago, for the first time, I witnessed Mama feeding Baby, Babette. Yes, I have named her. Even Ray doesn't know that I've named her.

Mama flies away, comes back, arches her neck so she can position her long thin beak into Babette's beak. I actually saw the baby's head above the top level of the nest. I really believed that Baby's neck was broken because she never lifted it up.

When I first moved to the Ranch in Calabasas back in 1989, I inherited the previous owners' chickens. One of the chicken's names was Babette. Babette was great. Ray had just moved in and we both loved both chickens. Babette would come running when I called her name. I'd have a carrot in my mouth, I'd stoop down to her level and she'd waddle over as fast as she could to eat the carrot from my mouth.

Unfortunately, my dog Chamo liked Babette too. One day I came home to find Chamo feeding on Babette's back. I got Chamo off Babette only to find a round depression about a 1/4 inch deep, where Chamo had chewed down to exposed backbone. Poor Babette.

I raced Babette off in the car to the vet. The vet took one look at the bird's chewed on back and said there was nothing he could do....that there wasn't any skin to pull together enough to be able to sew the open wound closed. I said he had to find a way to close Babette up. He did and I kept Babette in our bedroom for two weeks while she healed. The doctor said that I'd have to keep her inside as any flies landing on her exposed skin would generate infection in Babette. $400 later.

I enjoyed having Babette inside for a while but only for a while. Ray and I put her outside. She was going to make it.

A short time later, I wanted to see how Babette was doing and I called for her to come get a carrot out of my mouth. Babette didn't come running. That was strange. Well, maybe she hadn't heard me. I called again, and still no Babette.

I walked around the ranch and couldn't find Babette anywhere. Chamo was by my side so I knew Chamo wasn't off with Babette again somewhere. I asked Ray if he'd seen Babette. No, he hadn't.

Days went by. Weeks went by. Many years later Ray confessed that he'd seen lots of feathers in one of the horses open corrals. The feathers were the same color as Babette's had been. Ray hadn't wanted me to feel bad so he hadn't told me. We had a resident Bobcat that I'm sure finished off what Chamo had started.

Ray hadn't told me because he knows I care too much about animals. And now I care about our birds. And I'm soooooo relieved that Baby Babette is being fed.

One more worry left.... when will the other egg will hatch?

Two morning photos.

Cindy has been down here in the desert working for me first for two days and now Sandi. This morning I picked Cindy up at Sandi's and we did the Bump & Grind at 6am. It was great walking and talking again with Cindy. Cindy and I (and Tina and I) used to meet rather regularly and do hikes near our house in Tarzana. I miss those hikes up Killer Hill in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Cindy seated atop Bump and Grind at around 6:45am.


I took another photo of baby hummingbird on my return from the hike. She looks like she is growing but her head is still not reaching upward for food. Her beak seems to be larger though and she is still breathing. What is going on with the unhatched egg though? In trying to move away from the nest after taking this photo, I jammed my foot right into a cactus. Ouch!

I just took a peak at the nest and Mama is perched directly on top of the baby and egg. She is NOT feeding her live baby!!! Come on, this is driving me and Ray crazy. Feed your baby Mama! Make us happy before we leave for LA today.

Something is wrong with the baby bird.

If you take a look at the photos on the link below, Mama feeds just hatched babies hours after hatching.

What we have here is one unhatched egg and one newborn that doesn't lift its head up like the babies in the photos posted in the link.

Mama Hummingbird just sits on her nest and doesn't attempt to feed the baby. Is the baby not healthy? Does Mama know its not healthy? It is still breathing but doesn't lift its head up. Is the egg not going to hatch because something went wrong? Is Mama sitting on the baby and not feeding it because she believes she needs to do this so the egg will hatch? So many questions.

All I know is Ray and I are very upset with Mama. We want Mama to at least attempt to feed baby. Ray did say tonight he thought he saw Mama sitting on the edge of the nest with her beak inside. Ray said that he did not see baby's head though. It's so hard to sit by and watch and know we are powerless.

Anyway, below is something Tina sent me on The Birth of a Hummingbird:

THE BIRTH OF A HUMMINGBIRD

This is truly amazing. Be sure to click on NEXT PAGE
at the bottom of each page; there are 5 pages in all. A lady found
a hummingbird nest and got pictures all the way from the egg to
leaving the nest. Took 24 days from birth to flight. Because you'll
probably never in your lifetime see this again, enjoy; and please
share.


http://community.webtv.net/Velpics/HUM

One baby hummingbird has hatched today!

We have a baby outside our front door. One of Mrs. Hummingbird's eggs hatched. Ray found the baby hummingbird had come out of her shell early this morning. If you could only see us. We are like proud parents, tip toeing ever so quietly whenever we go in or out the front door. Letting anyone else who comes by to walk quietly. Mama Hummingbird doesn't like us near her young one.

At first glance baby wasn't moving and I thought it was dead. We noticed some nights Mom hadn't been sitting on her eggs. But after another peak I noticed some movement. Now 10 hours later, the other egg is still unhatched but the little black blob of a baby moves non stop, wriggling like a circle worm.

We haven't had a pet in so long. It's great caring again for our new pet birds. I hope I don't leave on my trip before the babies fly away from their nest.

More photos to follow.