Calliope's Hummingbird Chicks Have Fledged!

July 19th- The chicks are eighteen days old today and after having been gone for two days I was excited to see the presence of flight feathers. Over their head and back they are that brown w/red tipped color, but also have a greenish tinge now. The feathers on their wings are longer and black, there are also solid white feathers toward the back of their wings and tail. Their little beaks are mostly black now with some yellow at the base. Their chins are solid white in color.

July 20th-  I checked on the chicks right before a thunderstorm hit Mazama and the Basecamp. The chicks were sitting close together. There was generally no change in their appearance between day 18 and 19.

July 21st- The chicks are twenty days old today, the number of days predicted for a Calliope's hummingbird to fledge.. which sure enough was right on! I checked on them this morning to find that they had survived the wind and rain of the storm in the protected foliage of the forest. Both chicks woke up when I arrived, they also appeared to be much greener in color. I took a few pictures, and as I turned to leaved both chicks flew out of the nest. I was able to turn around and see one of them fly up into a neighboring tree!