Hanging out by the feeder

[Al Hansen]

This adult male rufous normally commands the most respect. It is extremely territorial much like the ruby throated hummer. He also makes good use of his brilliant gorget that flashes in the sunlight.

The next two shots are of juvenile male rufous hummers.

Evidently this little gal was deep in thought. This is an adult female calliope. She happens to be only about 2 1/2 inches long and that makes her the smallest bird in North America.

Things happen so quickly in the hummingbird world that not much stands still for long. The female calliope found her territory being invaded by a juvenile male rufous, who is much larger than she is, so to get out of his way, she flew upside down to get out of there. Hummers are the only birds that can do this.

The next two shots are of an adult male calliope. He has a very showy gorget.

It is good to know that we have another three weeks with the Calliopes and Rufous hummingbirds. About the last part of August is when the night time temps start to go below 60F. As soon as it hits 59F they are out of here heading for Mexico and Central America. The good news is that we will still have the black-chinned and broadtail hummers hanging around here until October. They can handle the cold with ease.
Al

 

[Dennis Johnson]

I love those little hummers& you get such great shots of them! Keep them comming Al, Thanks.
Dennis

 

[Mark Harter]

Al, magnificent photography of some gorgeous little humming birds. I have four feeders up and they fight like crazy chasing each other around. I am amazed at the shots in this post

 

[Chuck J]

Hey Al,

That's neat...we get a bunch of hummers in the yard, not sure which species though, I'll have to start paying closer attention. We don't put out a feeder, just have a lot of shrubs and flowers they love. The Buddleia and Calibrachoa really pull them in.

Chuck

 

[Jake]

Really great shots Al! Love sitting on the porch watching these little miracles in the evening. Got dumped on yesterday!! Finally......come on monsoons!!

 

[Edward Stevenson]

Beautiful photos Al. We only get ruby throated hummers here in the southeast. Your comment about humers being the only bird to fly upside down reminded me of a dove hunt I hosted several years ago. We had three adult bald eagles fly over the field. One was above the other two and it swooped down on one of the lower birds. In a heartbeat the one being "attacked" fliped on its back, showed its talons and beak to the aggresor, who quickly changed his mind, and the fliped back over, never missing a beat. In my mind it looked to me to be a male pestering a female whoi wanted no part of it.

 

[Dani]

Al-

I love that first shot of the rufous male....love his purdy gorget.

Dani

 

[Dick Sargeant]

Al - First rate shots ! Love how you captured the iridescent feathers with the light. Unbelievable color in such small packages.great focus and detail !
Thanks for posting !
How's the knee ?
sarge

 

[Al Hansen]

I love those little hummers& you get such great shots of them! Keep them comming Al, Thanks.
Dennis

Thanks for the comments, Dennis. We have about three more weeks of cool watching left. Right now there are four varieties here and we do have fun. Took this shot about four or five years ago with point and shoot camera. I was standing less than 2 feet from the feeder.
Al

 

[Al Hansen]

Al, magnificent photography of some gorgeous little humming birds. I have four feeders up and they fight like crazy chasing each other around. I am amazed at the shots in this post

Thanks so much, Mark. Sure glad you like them. We have four feeders up, also, and right now they are consuming over a gallon of nectar per day. Keeps us busy.
Al

 

[Al Hansen]

Hey Al,

That's neat...we get a bunch of hummers in the yard, not sure which species though, I'll have to start paying closer attention. We don't put out a feeder, just have a lot of shrubs and flowers they love. The Buddleia and Calibrachoa really pull them in.

Chuck

Thanks, Chuck. We, too, have planted a lot of varieties of perennials that hummers love. This is the first year, however that we have not used Million Bells. Thanks for the reminder on that.
Al

 

[Al Hansen]

Really great shots Al! Love sitting on the porch watching these little miracles in the evening. Got dumped on yesterday!! Finally......come on monsoons!!

Good to hear from you, Jake. I would assume that you'll be back in the classroom soon. Have a great start. Sure good to hear that you finally got some rain. Just to the north of us maybe 10/12 miles, they have more than four inches. We have had 1.2 inches so far and are grateful for that.
I sure have to agree with you---they are little miracles.
Al

 

[Al Hansen]

Beautiful photos Al. We only get ruby throated hummers here in the southeast. Your comment about humers being the only bird to fly upside down reminded me of a dove hunt I hosted several years ago. We had three adult bald eagles fly over the field. One was above the other two and it swooped down on one of the lower birds. In a heartbeat the one being "attacked" fliped on its back, showed its talons and beak to the aggresor, who quickly changed his mind, and the fliped back over, never missing a beat. In my mind it looked to me to be a male pestering a female whoi wanted no part of it.

Thanks for the reminder on the other birds. Made me think of geese and ducks that whiffle, however their heads are always right side up. That was quite a sight that you observed.
Al

 

[Al Hansen]

Al-

I love that first shot of the rufous male....love his purdy gorget.

Dani

Thanks so much, Dani. I think the rufous male knows he's good looking from the way they show off! Well, at least he acts that way----
This little guy was scratching his ear but you'll get a good look at his full gorget.
Al

 

[Al Hansen]

Al - First rate shots ! Love how you captured the iridescent feathers with the light. Unbelievable color in such small packages.great focus and detail !
Thanks for posting !
How's the knee ?
sarge

Hey Sarge---good to hear from you. You nailed it when you mentioned the "unbelievable color in such small packages." Thanks for the kind words.
As for the knee, it is coming along well. Slow and steady is the pace. Just by the side of my desk I have a box that Roger's Sporting Goods sent me last week. In it is a pair of waders that I am looking forward to putting on. Just 42 days until early teal season. I think I'll be ready. Need to be careful, however. Thanks for asking.
Al

 

[Jason Gunter]

great photos hope you do not mind if I copy and save.

 

[Rich Hohler]

Great shots Al. The shot with the swarm of hummers reminded me of a place I use to hunt a few years back that had some late blooming bushes at the edge of the marsh that always collected a swarm of hummers for a short time on their way south. Glad to hear your knee is healing up and your season is around the corner. Thanks for posting.

 

[Todd Duncan Tennyson]

Boy Al,

Those are some exceptional photos.

I bought a couple of feeders a few years back and put the sugar water in them, and we only had 1 hummer visit (which I scared away on accident.) The feeders froze up and busted over the winter.

I tried moving it to dirfferent spots in the yard, but none of them were enough to get that bird to come back.

Least we had a big gray Squirrel came and eat the corn I hung in the tree, and it was a lot of fun to watch him hang upside down and do his stunts to get at that cob.

 

[Brad Taylor (NC)]

Al...don't ever quit posting! I look forward to your pictures and stories. If I ever make it out to NM, I'd love to put a face with a name!

Brad

 

[Jason Gunter]

Take em down over the winter they migrate and wont be around to enjoy it.