Ace is the place: Black-chinned Hummingbirds (Archilochus alexandri) have high nesting success and productivity inside a hardware store

Abstract

Black-chinned Hummingbirds (Archilochus alexandri) began nesting inside a hardware store near El Paso, Texas, in the spring of 2015. At least 12 nesting attempts occurred inside the store through 2020, and all but 1 of them fledged young (91.7% nesting success). Nests were followed closely in 2019 and 2020, when 7 nesting attempts produced 13 fledglings. One female raised 4 broods between mid-April and early September 2020; this female laid eggs for her second, third, and fourth attempts while young from each previous attempt were still in the nest. The high nesting success and productivity that we observed probably resulted from nesting indoors, where the 2 major causes of nest failure in this species, predation and extreme weather, were absent. Old nests remained intact for multiple years inside the store, which probably facilitated multiple brooding because females often reused old nests rather than built new ones for subsequent attempts.