Some birds will reuse a nest but generally they build a new onee. Hummers don't really pair up. Once they have mated the male goes on his merry way looking for another receptive femaile. Their nest are usually well hidden so they are very difficult to locate.

Penny

Thank you Penny. Maybe one day I'll be lucky.

I have different birds then you. I have Ann's year round. Right now I have a bunch of boys, no nesting likely with this crew. Last year I had a yard full of babies. How can I have all these babies and not adults? I thought maybe I was stealing the neighborhood babies because of my feeders. I found an old log of 'Lady in the Lamp'. This bird had several broods a summer in a lamp. The condition of the nest would be good since it was well sheltered and so she reused it again and again. It dawned on me that I had returning Mom's last year that probable had multiple broods and everyone stuck around for the summer. All those babies were mine! I just bought a couple more feeders as I am hoping for a crowd this spring. I have no hope of ever finding a nest. I saw one in a garden center at Home Depot. It had caution tape wrapped around the bush is the only reason I saw it. The nest was a tiny little bag thrown over a limb. Mom carefully came in the back way. I am content to see the babies come to the feeders. The wild tail contortions it takes them to navigate tells me how new to the wing they are.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lady of the lamp.

Below are pictures of a hummer nest in south texas taken by a friend of mine here. It was in her back yard, and her husband was about to cut down the dead limb from a live oak tree when she saw the nest. Instead they went and got a ladder to take the pictures.

Hummers build their nests here with lichen and spider web, and who knows what else. You can see the spider web in the picture. Supposedly the nest expands while the chicks grow.

The mother of these chicks was a master of disquise. I suspect such a delicate nest would not last over the winter to be reused, but maybe the location is reused.

Thanks rob a for sharing those great pictures. I had not heard that the nest stretches to fit but that makes sense. The nest is a tight fit. Those two look snug, secure and aloof.
"Hummers build their nests here with lichen and spider web, and who knows what else."
Clematis have a hairy seed that is arranged in a sort of swirl. I saw a hummingbird clipping them in my yard. I have read that they may use animal hair. I have a good source of that and am actually considering providing clean fur balls.
Years ago my Mom lived deep in the country and used a burn barrel. It was a dry spring one year so she delayed burning. The local bird population used her paper towels to make nests. She could stand in the front yard and point out all the white paper towel nests. If hummers don't use my fur ball someone else would. I am thinking a suet feeder would work.
rob a, do you know what kind of hummingbird this is? How high was the nest?

Peggie, I have one of those cage type bird feeders you put seed cake in. I quit using it because I mostly got sparrows. This spring, I will fill it with dryer cotton lint and mabye medical cotton balls to see if the hummers will use it. It will be fun watching if they do.

I don't know the height of the nest, but they had to get a ladder to take pictures. I'll ask her at work Monday. The hummers were either Ruby Throated or Black Chinned. Both species are here in about equal numbers all summer.

Wow, thanks for sharing those pictures. I have no idea that a hummingbird nest can look like that. I have hummingbirds in my backyard and had a nest on the bay leaf tree. The nest was hanging from the tree, nothing like those in the pictures. They built it but I don't think they used it. Eventually, it fell off of the tree. As far as materials they gather for the nest, human hair was one of them. My boyfriend has a little gray on the sides. He was out there by the bay leaf tree and a hummingbird came down and was trying to pluck this one gray hair out of his head. He thought that was so cool.....