Mama Feeding Baby Hummingbirds - Double Trouble © 2012 Bo Mackison

Spent the morning at the Desert Museum just west of Tucson. I wandered into the Hummingbird Aviary to see if there were any babies. And yes, I did find a pair of Costa’s hummingbird babies that looked as if they were nearly big enough to fledge.

I’m not much of a bird watcher nor a bird photographer, but I couldn’t resist the show these two hummingbird babies put on. The one baby is larger, and kept leaning onto its sibling’s shoulders — do birds have shoulders? — trying to push up front and get Mama’s attention, and more food.

"Mama, I'm Starving!" © 2012 Bo Mackison

Even when the mother was feeding the less aggressive baby, the other one was always at the ready, beak open wide, as if to say petulantly, “Mama, I am starving! Feed ME!” A couple of times the larger baby pecked at the mama, and she pushed it aside. What a circus! She must be ready for them to fly away soon.

Babies Waiting Mama's Return © 2012 Bo Mackison

Once the mama left the nest, darting up and down throughout the aviary collecting invisible insects, the babies snuggled together, and looked almost content. Content and alert, watching for their lunch-mobile mama to come back.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC, living and photographing in southern Arizona.