My first time to get a male Malachite sunbird baby in a nest.
Just look at that little green head peeping out of the nest.
Not easy to get the photos, as not only was the nest well hidden under a big tree, but the bushes that surrounded the nest were also not very photogenic. And only to make things more difficult, the wind continued to stir the bushes that disturbed the light. But that didn't stop me from going into the bushes in order to get a view of the nest, and I kept an eye on the nest 2 or 3 days per week. The baby will leave the nest soon, and I only hope that we will be there to see its first flight.
Btw. As a reward for entering the bushes, a spider decided to reward me by biting me on the upper part of my right leg's thigh. Still swollen and burning right know.
Here below, the mom arrived to check on the baby.
Look at how angry the baby was, as the mom had no food for it.
The mom left and the baby looked a bit sad.
Then from out of nowhere, the wind whipped a feather up to cover the baby.
Maybe the wind was jealous, or it decided to try and protect the baby from my camera's intrusion.
In the meantime, the dad arrived high up in the tree with a bug for the baby, but the show was over as the feather drew a curtain over the feeding process.
Just to give you an idea of how the light played around. One moment bright sunlight, and when the clouds hide the sun, everything changes.
This Hadeda Ibis scampered at my approach in bright sunlight.
And then it flew into the shade. Lovely colors in its wings.
Every time that I took photos of a malachite baby leaving the nest, it was female, and the females had light grey heads. Not this time, and you can imagine how thrilled I was to get this little male. Even if I am not around when it leaves the nest, the babies stay close to the nest for a few days until they are strong enough to fly. So, for me it is easy to track it, as all that I have to do is to watch the spots out of the nest, where both parents continue to feed the baby. So, I am quite optimistic that I will get the baby on camera when it's out the nest.
I am just so thankful that I could get a male baby at last.
Such is life.
I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the story.
Photos by Zac Smith-All-Rights-Reserved.
Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.
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