Hummingbird nest discovery partially halts Las Vegas construction

March 4 (UPI) -- Construction of a Las Vegas apartment project was partially halted when workers made an unexpected discovery - a hummingbird nest with two tiny eggs.

Mike Vivier, project superintendent for the construction project at SHAREDowntown, said workers were preparing to insulate some pipes in an underground parking garage when they discovered the nest and eggs.

"There is going to be a lot of fumes in here in a week, less than a week, a couple of days and they would die. So we're trying to save them," Vivier told KVVU-TV.

Nevada is home to eight species of hummingbirds, and there are no laws protecting them or their nests from construction projects, but Vivier said his crew decided to protect the nest.

The crew constructed a bird house just outside of the parking garage and placed a hummingbird feeder and some red tape - a color hummingbirds are attracted to - in the hopes of luring the mother to the smaller structure.

Vivier said the workers then cut out the section of pipe that holds the nest and placed it inside the house.

Wildlife experts said the mother hummingbird is likely to find the nest and care for the babies when they hatch.

"Baby hummingbirds need to eat every fifteen minutes when they are unfeathered and then up to every thirty minutes when they are feathered," said Wren Blossfeld with the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah.