Watching winged wonders

Your article on hummingbirds [“Yards Abuzz With Tiny Travelers,” May 5] was welcome and timely reading for me, as just last week I finished observing, at very close range, the raising of two Costa’s chicks on my condo patio. (I was able to identify them after seeing the photos that ran with your piece.) Much of what you described rang true with my observations, including placement and construction of the nest, the constant feeding and other behaviors. The timetable was right on, also: They hatched two days apart. They flew off the nest three weeks and two days after the second one hatched.

Bernard Sandalow

Culver City

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Your story on hummingbirds is timely considering we currently have a nest in our backyard. The nest and your story are great educational subjects for my 11-year-old daughter, Amara.

Edgar Redmond

Los Angeles