Avian Nesting 12/100 April - Long-billed Spiderhunter

It was an awesome find in Kemensah my ole hunt. I have not been birding here since August 2016 With the mushrooming of so many chalets and recreation operators along the river front the bird life here has somewhat dwindled except the common birds.  The situation is made worse by  mountain bikers and motocross riders which uses the laterite trail as their playground during the weekends.

But then from time to time you can have some exceptional find.

Back to the nest of the Spiderhunter. The end April 2017 I believe the bird is still hatching an  egg or two as the bird stayed  awhile inside. Like the Little Spiderhunter they make their nest under large hardy leaf.

I did not stayed long to study the nest construction. Took some photos and left the area as the bird watches nearby in the undergrowth. As you can see  it hanged beneath a banana leaf which is amazing as multiple twigs are used to  puncture the leave which acts as the foundation. How it stayed put is intriguing.... until it is abandoned then i can investigate thoroughly. For now my guess  is most probably with webbing or saliva secretion.

Inside the outer base is made  from fibrous roots and twigs. The nest is a concave shape contraption with a 6 inches opening and  15 inches in depth. Inside is an another round nest made from finer patchwork  as you can see in picture 2 above. By the look of the leave which starting to tear; I am worried it may not last if the weather is unfavorable. Hope it will survive...................

My second visitation was in  2nd week of  May 2017. Good news  I sighted the parent bringing in spider to feed the hatchling. See photo below. The interval of feeding can be as long as 30 minutes a time.

The third weekend on 21th May; the chick was sighted inside the nest and the frequency of feeding increase  to  10-15 minutes. The chick has sprouted spiky feathers.... another week or two it will fledged. The trail was cleared.

Luckily the banana tree was not disturbed. Picture below the parent tending and feeding the chick.  It stayed less that 5-10 seconds. I think its a single parent. 

On the last weekend 27th May I was there again to check the progress of the nesting. It was still intact but empty. There was sign of  meddling but I would hope  the bird had fledged successfully............