Hello,

We were blessed this spring to have a hummingbird nest right out our window. We watched Mama finish building her nest, roost, and eventually feed her 2 little babies. They grew and grew, of course, with Mama feeding frequently. One little one was practicing wing-flapping from the edge of the nest for a couple of days. He got strong enough to fly away yesterday. The second one stood on the edge of the nest today with Mama very actively involved with him - hovering, prodding, flying nearby, perching very nearby. While I was out for a short time, baby #2 also learned to fly away. This whole process unfolded as I thought it would from what I read. But my biggest curiosity is now... Mama Hummer is staying around this empty nest almost constantly! We have an outdoor cat and she is also flying all around the cat! and too close for comfort! Do mother hummingbirds experience some sort of "empty nest syndrome"? Is it possible for her to be having some kind of separation anxiety? I realize that there is nothing I can do to help her. I was just wondering if any of you are familiar with this behavior. Maybe she just really likes it on our patio and is looking for the next place to build a new nest? Or will the babies return to the nest at all?

Any info you have would be appreciated...

From Mama Hummer's worried mama...

-- Viv :/