Little Jewel's Remarkable Journey

Have you ever watched a baby hummingbird grow up? Now you can through stunning photographs of an adorable baby hummingbird and her loving mom. The heartwarming story will delight children as they follow Little Jewel from the day she hatches out of a tiny egg (Day 1) to the day she flies out of the nest (Day 24). With her mom’s great care and protection, Little Jewel grows into a beautiful fledgling ready to explore the world. This engaging book also includes a day-by-day growth chart of Little Jewel, facts about hummingbirds, and tips to attract hummingbirds to gardens.

Author Susanne Strauss is an award-winning nature photographer and educator. She had the wonderful opportunity to observe and photograph hummingbirds that had nested and raised their young in her garden. Her photographs inspired the story of Little Jewel. Susanne displays her hummingbird photographs at the local library and gives presentations on baby hummingbirds at schools and nature stores. She enjoys traveling to national parks, photographing wildlife, and backyard birding.

• Little Jewel is an Allen’s hummingbird. Allen’s hummingbirds nest primarily in California and southern Oregon.  
   
• It is currently breeding season. Breeding season can begin in January and last until July.
   
• The female builds the nest, incubates the eggs, and raises the young on her own. The female usually lays two eggs. Little Jewel’s mom laid two eggs; however, the second egg did not hatch. It stayed in the nest while Little Jewel grew up.
   
• The nest is about 1.5 inches in diameter and stretches as the baby hummingbird grows. The inside of the nest is soft. The outside of the nest is covered with tiny twigs, leaves, and plant material and is held together with spider silk. Little Jewel’s mom also decorated the nest with paint chips from the garden fence.
   
• The courtship behavior of a male hummingbird consists of first flying back and forth like a pendulum and then flying high into the sky, diving down, and making a unique sound as he nears back to the female. He’ll climb again and soar down a couple more times.