5 Northwest Animal Moms Who Can Teach Us About Parenting

Through snow, sleet, wind or rain, these tiny, single mothers brave all kinds of weather to raise their young early in the spring. The mom builds a nest, the size of a golf ball, woven together with spider webs. She sits on her jelly-bean sized eggs to protect her eggs, and once they hatch she feeds her two chicks on her own. She will even defend her nest against predators many times larger than herself, such as hawks.

What Northwest human moms can learn: You don’t have to be a grizzly to defend your family.

Where to see them. The easiest way to see an Anna’s hummingbird is to put a feeder in your yard, or on a window. Also, consider adding hummingbird-friendly plants to your yard or balcony, such as red-flowering currant or honeysuckle. You can also see hummingbirds in many parks any time of the year around tubular-shaped flowers.

Watch: A hummingbird builds a tiny nest in this PBS documentary.