Hummingbird Nest: A Journal of Poems

 

Everything Hummingbird . . .

 

Listen

Hear some of the poems read aloud with musical (hummingbird-ish) interludes.
 

Watch

These amazing videos of hummingbird nests are a wonderful reminder of that special time when my family hosted its own hummingbird family.



 



Hummingbirds in my backyard. Perhaps Anna or her babies. are part of this crowd!



 
© Barry Moser 2004. All rights reserved.In writing Hummingbird Nest: A Journal of Poems, I found I had many questions as I watched our Anna's hummingbird build her nest and raise her family in the little tree on our back patio. When do the babies' eyes open? What does the mother feed her hatchlings? How long will they stay in the nest? 


And, since I didn't know much about hummingbirds, I contacted experts across the country, read stacks of books about hummingbirds, and visited some fascinating sites.

Scroll down or flit around to discover some of my favorite resources:

 

Links to web sites with information about hummingbirds
 
Links to web sites with some great information and photographs of Anna's hummingbirds. (It was an Anna's hummingbird that built her nest on our back patio and inspired Hummingbird Nest: A Journal of Poems)
 
Links to resources for educators and students including "web cams" where students can observe hummingbirds (and other birds) at sites around the world
 
Books and videos about hummingbirds
 
These are some of the experts who patiently answered my questions and generously shared their knowledge of hummingbirds.
 

 


Links to Information about Hummingbirds 

 


Student Activities

© Barry Moser 2004. All rights reserved.

A Teacher's Guide to Hummingbird Nest: A Journal of Poems by Mary Lou Meerson, Educational Consultant (Adobe Acrobat file)

Teaching ideas from Time for Kids (pages 11 to 13) (Adobe Acrobat file)

"From Building to Hatching: Books about Nests" by Jacqueline Davies — A terrific bibliography and sidebar about writing Hummingbird Nest.
(Permission to reprint "From Building to Hatching: Books about Nests" by Jacqueline Davies (Volume 14, Number 2; November 2004 issue) granted by Book Links: Connecting Books, Libraries, and Classrooms, published by the American Library Association.) (Adobe Acrobat file)

Bird Lesson plans from ProTeacher

Egg to Fledgling Countdown with thought-provoking questions for students from Journey North: Engaging Students in a Global Study of Wildlife Migration and Seasonal Change. Could be used in conjunction with this photographic chronicle.

Mrs. Reddick's Hummingbird Garden
at Dixie Elementary in San Rafael, CA

Operation RubyThroat: The Hummingbird Project
- provides students across North America and Central America with opportunities to engage in meaningful scientific observation and research

Wildlife Habitats on School Grounds
- including some with hummingbird gardens

National Wildlife Federation
- Send a hummingbird e-card

Web Cams - See what's happening in the bird world live via video cameras from:
    
      Idyllwild, CA  James Reserve Nature Observatory 
      Indianapolis, IN  Wild Birds Unlimited FeederCam

 

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The Hummingbird Society - extensive information on hummingbirds

hummingbird.net
- a wonderful photo album, in-depth information on hummingbirds and events, and additional links

"Hummingbirds: Frantic and Fascinating" by Terry Dunn

BBC Radio program
on hummingbirds  - click on "listen again" to hear this marvelous program

Animal Bytes
from the San Diego Zoo

"Highlights of Hummingbird Nest Building"
by Naomi Mathews

"Hummingbird Biology for Gardeners: Lifestyles of the Nectar Sippers" by Stephen W. Kress from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden

The Hummingbird Website - articles and related information

Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory - extensive information and links

National Audubon Society - enter "hummingbirds" in the search box for a list of articles

Project Wildlife - Information on the development of hummingbirds and what do do if you find a hummingbird chick who has fallen out of the nest

"A Fist in the Eye of God"
- an amazing essay by Barbara Kingsolver - includes a description of a hummingbird building her nest
 

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Anna's Hummingbirds

 

Information

Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology
- information on Anna's hummingbirds and a downloadable file of the sounds of an Anna's hummingbird

San Diego Natural History Museum
- information and photo

Sounds of an Anna's hummingbird
from the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology


Photographs


Countdown! Hummer Eggs to Fledglings - click on the thumbnails to see a larger picture

The Hummingbird Diaries - click on the animated hummers on the bottom of each page to follow the chicks' development

John Donch
- series of photos of an Anna's hummingbird who built a nest on some wind chimes (includes some great pictures of the fledglings testing their wings)

Beth Kingsley Hawkins has some gorgeous images of hummingbirds on hummerlady.com as well as gift cards.

Ron and Peggy Reed - photos of an Anna's hummingbird nest

Sierra Foothills Conservancy - photos of an Anna's Hummingbird on her nest and feeding

Humbaout Hummingbird Photography

Hummingbirds of Trinidad and Tobago

 

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Books and Videos about  Hummingbirds

 

For Adults


A Field Guide to Hummingbirds of North America (Peterson Field Guides) by Sheri Williamson. Houghton Mifflin, 2002.

[Video] Hooked on Hummingbirds by Thomas H. Kaminski 

Hummingbirds: Beauty in Flight
by by Karen Krebs

A Hummingbird in my House:  The Story of Squeak by Arnette Heidcamp.  Crown Publishers, 1991.

Hummingbirds:  Jewels in Flight by Connie Toops.  Voyageur Press, 1992.

The Hummingbirds of North America by Paul. A. Johnsgard. Smithsonian Institution Press, 1997.

[Video] Hummingbirds of North America (John Vanderpoel's Advanced Birding Series). Scripted by Sheri Williamson. Narrated by Jon Dunn. Peregrine Video Productions, 2003

Hummingbirds of North America: A Photographic Guide (AP Natural World Series) by Steve Howell. Princeton University Press, 2001.

Hummingbirds:  Their Life and Behavior  A Photographic Study of the North American Species
Hummingbirds:  Their Life and Behavior  A Photographic Study of the North American Species by Esther Quesada Tyrrell.  Photographs by Robert A. Tyrrell.  Crown Publishers, 1985. 

The Secret Lives of Hummingbirds by David Wentworth Lazaroff.  Photographs by Paul and Shirley Berquist.  Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Press, 1995

Stokes Beginner's Guide to Hummingbirds by Donald and Lillian Stokes. Little Brown and Company, 2002.

The World of the Hummingbird by Robert Burton. Firefly, 2001.

The World of the Hummingbird by Harry Thurston. Sierra Club Books, 1999.

For Young Readers


Dancers in the Garden by Joanne Ryder.  Illustrations by Judith Lopez.  Sierra Club Books for Children, 1992. 

A Dazzle of Hummingbirds by Bruce Berger. Blake Publishing, 1989.

Hummingbirds: A Beginner's Guide
by Laurel Aziz. Firefly Books, 2002.

Hummingbirds: Jewels in the Sky by Ester Quesada Tyrrell.  Photographs by Robert A. Tyrrell.  Crown Publishers, 1992. 

The Hungry Hummingbird by April Pullye Sayre. Illustrations by Gay W. Holland. Milbrook Press, 2001.

It's a Hummingbird's Life by Irene Kelly. Holiday House, 2003.

 

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Thank you!

Once again, I want to thank the following hummingbird experts whose generous help — from answering e-mails and phone calls to providing reference material — helped me enormously as I was writing  Hummingbird Nest: A Journal of Poems:

 

Ed Lewins, Curator of Birds at the San Diego Zoo

Shawnee Riplog Peterson, Curator of Mammalogy and Ornithology at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

Kimball Garrett, Ornithology Collections Manager at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

Sheri L. Williamson of the Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory

Hummingbird team at Project Wildlife

 


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Kristine O'Connell George. All rights reserved.

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