Hummingbirds

[saaber1]

Put out a couple feeders yesterday and out they came! Apparently only 1 species overwinters here though. It's amazing how many different colors the same bird can be depending on the light. Her throat looks bright red, gold, or green depending on the light.

 

[radtech91]

Those are some great shots!

 

[duaneb9729]

Very pretty birds, and great pictures!

 

[SaturnIonVue]

Great pics!! What camera were you using?

 

[CivicFan]

That's the feeder that we have. The best quality and durability and the humming birds seem to like it.

Do you fill the middle recessed area with water to discourage ants?

 

[simple_gifts]

I have a box fan venting my attic through a regular storm window. One summer I looked out and there were hummingbirds riding the exhaust of the fan, they were just hovering there. Not sure why they were doing it, but I was about 2 feet away on the intake side of the fan.

 

[saaber1]

Originally Posted By: CivicFan
Do you fill the middle recessed area with water to discourage ants?

Ahh so that is what that is for. I thought maybe it was to refill without removing the red cover. It seems like it would be pretty easy to clean. I bought this one and one that looks sort of like a flower. On this one they sit on the perch to eat and the flower one they eat while hovering.

It's neat to see these guys in the winter. I say one in the park a few days ago and it got me to thinking, "what are these guys finding to eat in this cold weather"?

 

[saaber1]

Originally Posted By: SaturnIonVue
Great pics!! What camera were you using?

Thanks! I'm still learning and still don't know how to use many of the features on the camera. The camera is a Nikon d90 with a 70-300mm VR "kit" lens. This lens is cheap and makes life so much easier. I've never used a tripod with it yet. Of course it does better in good light but it takes some good shots in even less than ideal lighting. These hummingbird shots were taking a fast moving target through storm window plus regular window in poor lighting. That is asking a lot but almost every shot came out respectable which really surprised me. i thought I would have to use a flash at least.

 

[The_Eric]

Excellent pics!

The wife and I have been wanting to move to the Pac NW and were talking about these little buzzers, wondering how many many there were. In Iowa, we have as many as three feeders during the height of the "busy season" and they're usually being used most of the time.

One night we were sitting on our deck watching them (a mere 3 feet away to the closest feeder) when I decided to grab our little P&S. The pictures are pretty unremarkable but still interesting. They are extremely territorial and are always quarreling. They will even chatter at us if we're walking through their "territory". After a while we decided to lay on our backs and see their dog fighting from another view. One time a dominate bird shoo'ed another away... That bird then dropped to the deck so to speak and did a fly by over the wife's nose. She said she could feel the "prop wash" as it buzzed by... She has also had many buzz her and look her in the eye (inches away - maybe it has something to do with her red hair?) while changing the feeder.