Some early morning rays of sunshine

Well with the number of mosquitoes that I have I should just be covered up in hummingbirds. Sadly I am not. I too only get a handful of birds...usually two or three males and two or three females. I go through half a cup of juice spread over two feeders in a couple of days. My dad crows about going through two cups of food a day!!! But he is in WA where they have many, many more varieties of hummingbirds. Love that shot of the bird catching the bug.

Dani
 
Morning, Troy---Every once in a while, like a decade or so, I will stumble across something that is very different when it comes to picture taking. This photo is a good example. If you glanced at it on your computer screen and didn't do a little investigating, I would have missed what it is all about. However, when I did look at this particular shot, the way the female looked was so unusual that I decide to crop it a little to bring it in closer. That is when I then saw the insect. I am thrilled that I took my time with that shot to look at it before making a rushed decision and deleting it.

I'll bet that you have taken pictures of Pearl and that there was one that did catch your eye because of something unusual.
Al

Speaking of unusual, the picture is typical if you consider the fact that we live in an arid environment here in New Mexico. However the unusal aspect of it is this, to see the river totally dry this time of June is an eye opener. Now most of us around this part of NM are wondering what our Monsoon Season will be like when the first part of July is here. Last year we did not get any monsoonal flow at all during the season which lasts from the first part of July through September.



View attachment _MG_7968.JPG
 
Always enjoy your photos Al. You have a great eye and the ability to tell a story.

Will be getting my new pup in mid-July.
 
Hey Brad,
Well, sir, that tells me you got lucky and found what you are looking for. Good for you. When your pup is in your arms, make sure someone takes a picture so we can get a good look at the next duck hunting dog that will be by your side in the blind. This is exciting.
Al
 







Hi Dani,
I know exactly what you are saying. We only have a skeleton crew of hummers in our area during the breeding season. If it is wet, and that is according to the hummers, they will stick around and raise their families. By the way, once the female is bred, the male is on his home, much like a pair of mallards or pheasants. When we have lots of wild flowers around here, that is the magic magnet that keeps them in place. However, more time than not, they will just stay for a few short days on their way to another spot that they seem to like better.

I never have had a nectar feeder than was dry because of all the hummingbird activity. So, I make sure to change the nectar quite often just to make sure it is fresh. Then around July 12th to the 15th is when I begin getting adult male Rufous and Calliope pairs in large numbers. Just before they leave around the middle of August, we then get a great influx of juveniles as they stop here to get fat again prior to extending their migration trip to Mexico and Central America. Dani, there have been times where Bev and I have had to refill our feeders during the day. At one time I had larger type feeders that were holding a total of 3 gallons of nectar. So when I say we had hundreds here at a time it was a sight to behold. you don't forget things like that.

By the end of September all that is left in our area would be 50 or 60 Black-chinned and Broadtailed hummers. They normally will be out of here before the middle of October.
Al

Here are a few closeups for you, Dani. Enjoy

I have to tell you this. It took me years to figure out that when I looked at someone's picture all i had to do is click on it to make it larger. I sure hope I have another few years left, I might figure out something else.



View attachment _MG_8516.JPG




View attachment _MG_8696.JPG




View attachment _MG_8541.JPG




View attachment _MG_8693.JPG




View attachment _MG_8565.JPG


View attachment _MG_8679.JPG


View attachment _MG_8573.JPG




View attachment _MG_8676.JPG




View attachment _MG_8611.JPG
 
Al, those shots are wonderful. Is the backdrop a wall or is it that your focus and depth of field are so tight that the background just becomes a neutral backdrop? What are you camera settings to freeze the wings?
 
Love the rufous! Keep an eye out for a banded one! I had one banded at my feeder two years ago that stuck around through most of the winter. I have also had a buff-belly visit me in the winter but only for a day. We tried to band him the next day. I did get video of him at my feeder though so I have proof he was there. Winter time here we get buff bellies, black chins, rufous, calliope and broadtails....not in large numbers but regular enough that hearing that we have one isn't a surprise. Those are the ones that the hummer bander tries to get a hold of, so I do keep my feeder going year round in hopes that I will see more species. But I have so many hummingbird flowers that they don't really NEEEEEED to come visit my feeder.
 
Brad, the pictures of the hummingbirds were taken with a Canon 7D and at that time I was using a non IS 70mm-200mm f.4 L lens It was lightning quick but some times the non IS (image stablizer) hurt me and the pics would be blurred. It's burst rate is at 8 fps and it was set at 1/.2000th of a second. I should have been using 2500 or 3000 for my speed especially with the Rufous males. Their wing beat is difficult to freeze.

Just recently I have begun using up to 4,000th of a second when I have my 100-400mm L IS lens. It helps a lot. Hopefully in July we will begin to get the migrating hummers here. I always look forward to seeing them. We are lucky enough to have them here for 45 days but realize that the adult male rufous and Calliopes are gone half way through that time block and they are replaced by juveniles and females for the second half of the time block.

My dream lens will be a Canon 70mm-200mm IS L lens. One of these days I might be looking for a good used one. It should work just fine duck hunting, also.
Al

Here is a juvenile rufous male. His gorget is just beginning to show those bright orange feathers. He might have a couple of them. What you said about a neutral backdrop is correct.
View attachment _MG_8897.JPG

I remember this backdrop from 2014 on July 30th. It is a Granny Smith apple tree. I was using my walkabout lens which is a Canon 24-105mm L lens. One thing that I used to do, Brad is work hard to get the hummingbirds use to seeing me. You knew you were getting their attention when they would allow me to get as close as 20 inches to the feeder. It got so that I could sit in my Kawasaki Mule, hang a feeder from the plywood roof I put on. Then with some wire I would hang it at the desired height sit on the comfortable seat and within 10 minutes or so, have a swarm of hummers actively feeding. By doing this I could pick what I wanted for a backdrop, bushes, etc. and be comfortable.


View attachment _MG_5929.JPG

This is our cresote bush just a little northeast of our kitchen patio. The hummers love it as their rest stop area. This happened to be Aug. 5th of 14. I really lucked out having those clouds for a backdrop. Don't see many of them at all during the year.

View attachment _MG_7274.JPG
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top