ItB次元官网网址檚 just past 8 a.m. and Eric Pittman is right on time to witness a momentous occasion in the bitsy lives of Rabbit and Hatter.

With his video camera trained on the two baby hummingbirds, Pittman records the siblings leaving their nest, then flying right back B次元官网网址� their first ventures out into the world.

The babiesB次元官网网址� speedy turnaround is something Pittman has never seen go down quite like this.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 very unusual,B次元官网网址� he said.

The Esquimalt resident is highly attuned to the intricacies of the birdsB次元官网网址� behaviour.

For the past three years, he has spent one to three hours a day documenting the life cycle of AnnaB次元官网网址檚 hummingbirds, in a colony located on what he dubs Hummingbird Hill. He prefers to keep the actual location secret, for fear curious people will disturb the nests.

Most people strolling in the park would be surprised to learn the nests are within easy reach, sometimes as low as chest level B次元官网网址� but only if you know what to look for.

They are hidden in plain sight, blending in with the fungus on the branches of trees.

Pittman uses his hearing to zero in on the birds.

A high-pitched peep tells him not only the location of the birds, but also what theyB次元官网网址檙e up to. Whether feeding or fighting, each activity comes with a different sound.

Filming and photographing is a labour of love for Pittman, who calls himself a citizen scientist. He pays the bills by selling windows currently, but heB次元官网网址檚 fuelled by observing hummingbirds. He hopes to make a documentary, but his footage is also proving useful to a new scientific study looking into the breeding habits of the birds.

B次元官网网址淓ric is just unbelievable at finding nests B次元官网网址� itB次元官网网址檚 crazy,B次元官网网址� said Alison Moran, the volunteer co-ordinator of the Hummingbird Project, managed by the Rocky Point Bird Observatory.

B次元官网网址淲hen you have someone with that kind of skill set, there is the opportunity to look at what the nesting requirements are, how theyB次元官网网址檙e doing it,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e learned an awful lot just because weB次元官网网址檙e able to do the observational study, because weB次元官网网址檝e got the guru there.B次元官网网址�

The Hummingbird Project was launched in 1997 and encompasses many studies of hummingbird populations in B.C. and Alberta.

In February, the project turned its attention to the resident population of AnnaB次元官网网址檚 hummingbirds in Esquimalt.

Migrating hummingbirds, such as the Rufous, have declined significantly over the past 40 years, said Moran, who lives in Saanich. By contrast, the AnnaB次元官网网址檚 populations on Vancouver Island have grown exponentially since they stopped migrating and put down permanent roots in the 1950s.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 like an atom bomb going off,B次元官网网址� she said.

Staying put means the birds donB次元官网网址檛 have to expend their energy on migration. Instead, they spend their energy having babies and building multiple nests each year.

B次元官网网址淣ow, interestingly, there is an overlap between where the Rufous have been lost and where the AnnaB次元官网网址檚 have expanded into,B次元官网网址� Moran said.

But, she warned, that doesnB次元官网网址檛 mean the AnnaB次元官网网址檚 are to blame for the decline of migrating species. They could simply be filling a gap created by other forces. The purpose of MoranB次元官网网址檚 study is to start to understand whether the relationship is causal, or simply correlational.

While Rufous are very sensitive to urbanization, AnnaB次元官网网址檚 are positively impacted by humans, she explained.

B次元官网网址淭hey actually try to breed around us,B次元官网网址� she said.

Pittman jokes they lay eggs like chickens.

With his tripod, video camera and camera tucked in his arms, he scrambles up rocks and crouches through narrow deer paths. As he ducks and weaves, he points out several nests, some in use and some being pilfered by female birds to make their next nest.

Most people who document hummingbird life cycles stop the day the fledgelings leave the nest, Pittman said. But he likes to track them until they are fully weaned. So much happens during this time, he said.

Later that morning, he documents Hatter getting B次元官网网址渁 beatdownB次元官网网址� by another hummingbird.

Young ones often get tough love from their moms, too. SheB次元官网网址檒l pull on their feathers to throw them off balance and force them to fly, he explained. Mom is eager to encourage self-sufficiency in her young so she can stop feeding them and tend to her next batch of eggs.

Over the years, Pittman has climbed trees to get a better shot, returned fallen eggs to their nest, and even fed a starving baby whose mother was sick.

He said he doesnB次元官网网址檛 feel paternalistic toward the hummingbirds, that his interest is merely the photographic challenge.

But his care is hard to miss.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 always nice to see them fledge, because then I know they made it out okay.B次元官网网址�

rholmen@vicnews.com

Online shout-out to hummingbird fans

B次元官网网址� See hundreds of Eric PittmanB次元官网网址檚 photographs and videos of hummingbirds on his website: hummingbirdsupclose.com. Or find him on Facebook by searching Hummingbirds Up Close.

B次元官网网址� Those interested in volunteering to observe hummingbirds at the Esquimalt nesting site can contact hummingbird@rpbo.org for more information. Volunteers must be a member of either the Victoria Natural History Society or the Rocky Point Bird Observatory.