Purple Sunbird nest

I've seen nests of wasps, ants and birds usually from a distance. For the first time, I got a chance to see a nest at eye level. The nest was woven and stitched by a tiny bird called the Purple Sunbird. This bird is barely 10 cm long including its beak and tail feathers. I'd seen the bird several times at my friend's office-studio which has plenty of greenery. This is just one corner of one green area.

Aug-16-2019
Saw the nest for the first time when a colleague mentioned about it. He had seen three tiny eggs, sky blue with black dots. I was hesitant to go near it lest I scared the bird away.

Aug-19-2019

Three days later, I got a closer shot.

The nest is made in a golden money creeper, its leaves are almost 15 cm wide, 30 cm long and has a thick stalk. The creeper's stem is thick and clings on to walls firmly. The bird had stitched two edges of a leaf and within the niche it has woven coir fiber into a little cup. The coir strands were also bound together with white material, probably strands of Yekke-Gida seeds.

Aug-31-2019

The leaf had fallen off. We discussed about the nest and its owners. Some time in the past two weeks the eggs had hatched, the chicks grew up, learnt to fly and became independent. I learned that Sunbirds usually feed on nectar but they hunt insects too, especially to feed the young birds. Here's the abandoned nest. My friend inferred that the bird must've slashed cut the leaf stalk as a mark of abandoning the nest.

The woven cup bulging out of the leaf.

This is the closed end of the nest.

The nest entrance. Wish I'd a chance to see the eggs and chicks in here.

It looks so cosy. The soft green light during the day. That's harmony between plants and animals.

Its wonderful to see the natural architect-engineers' creations. Hoping to see the birds return for the next mating season.

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