The Big Sit

I was up early enough this morning to beat the heat and, after wandering around a little, I returned to my chair in the shade -- back to the pond -- to watch the hummingbird nest. I could still see the thorn-like beaks of the two hummer young still sticking up above the rim of the nest but no sign of mama. After a good long wait -- it was getting hotter and hotter and I was starting to worry -- she appeared perched on a bare twig where I could see her perfectly and she could see me. She seemed more suspicious than she was yesterday and would not come in for a long time. At least twice, she circled around the nest tree, perching on the other side and also checking me out in flight; she was clearly trying to assess how big a threat I might be. I tried to sit as low in the chair as I could and to move as little as possible but I couldn't avoid lifting my binoculars up to my eyes to get a better look at what was going on. I had almost decided to leave Ms Hummer and her chicks in peace when she suddenly vanished behind the tree and then came in as inconspicuously as possible on the opposite side of the nest tree. In a flash, she was on the edge of the nest and feeding both offspring with jabs of her long beak into their now open bills and regurgitating their sustenance down their throats. That was my signal to leave and leave I did.   

During the time I was waiting for her to arrive, there was actually a lot of activity in the vicinity. Some of the local Purple Martins were actually perching on the top of the live and dead trees that surround the spot and there was a lot of chirping martin dialogue going on. Although, I couldn't get up to have a better look, I am pretty certain that the perching birds were fledglings, barely out of one of the nests across the marsh and still uncertain in their flying capabilities while the circling adults were encouraging them to continue to exercise their newly discovered flight abilities. Other birds noted from my seated position included Flickers, Eastern Phoebe, Barn Swallow, a smaller swallow with white underparts (a Roughwinged Swallow I believe), Black-capped Chickadees, American Goldfinch, American Robin and Carolina Wren. Even though my back was to the water I could hear a Royal Tern, several Common Terns and the usual gulls (Herring and Black-backed). Sort of what birdwatchers call The Big Sit.

Eric Salzman