My friend Karen Rydeen told me that in mid-May she had enjoyed watching a Ruby-throated Hummingbird repeatedly poking at spider webs on the railing of her porch, as well as from the edges of a window frame. The bird kept removing small bits and then returning for more, and Karen realized she must have been nest-building. According to Birds of the World, it is the female Ruby-throated Hummingbird alone who constructs the cup-shaped nest. The primary construction material is plant-down such as from a dandelion or thistle. I also recently heard the story of someone watching a hummingbird pluck fur from the back of their sleeping dog, who paid no attention to the activity. Apparently animal down can substitute when easily available. These materials are woven together with those useful spiderwebs, and then the outside of the nest is coated with lichens which make good camouflage, or decoration, depending on your perspective. Next spring, I will not sweep away all the spider webs that festoon our deck railings, and hopefully the hummingbirds will find them and make good use of them.
Reference: Weidensaul, S., T. Robinson, R. Sargent, M. Sargent, and T. Zenzal Jr. 2020. Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris), version 1.0. In The Birds of the World (P. Rodewald, ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY.
Enjoy this field note? Check out other field notes from Spring 2025!
- A Tailless Red-winged Blackbird Named Bob by Len Medlock
- Garter Snake Eats a Wilson’s Warbler by Cole Parks
- Osprey Nesting Tree Collapses by Kirk Elwell
- Spiderwebs are Useful! (for hummingbirds, at least) by Kathryn Frieden
- White-faced Song Sparrow by Jim Sparrell
- The Fate of a “White Dove” by Kathryn Frieden
- Woodcock Distraction Display by Milton Trimitsis
Want even more? Visit our “From the Field” page.