Hummingbird

[Robert_in_NY]

I was playing around yesterday and took this photo at a job site.

[GaryM]

Great photo. You were very lucky, or good, to be able to get such a shot.

[RichZ]

Great shot!!!

[TimSullivan]

You took a very good photo.

Our family has always set out feeders for them. Once the sliding door to the deck was left open and there was a humming bird that flew in the house to feed on hanging plant in the doorway. It got confused and flew around the house until it just hid behind a drape. My wife was able to pick it up and everyone got a close up look at the little one. She walked it outside opened up her hand and it just sat there for a few seconds. Suddenly it flew straight up about there feet and made a circle around her head and then disappeared into the trees.

[rabbitrae90]

Thats a cool close up! I just put up a hummingbird feeder about two weeks ago and I'm not geting any hummingbirds. oh well nice pic though! [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Robert_in_NY]

I had the idea of taking the pic the day before. I was changing the door at this house and there is a feeder right behind my head. I turn around as I hear the buzzing and there was a hummingbird 5 inches from my face wanting to get to the feeder. He could care less I was there as they were use to people so I figured it would be as good a time as any to take a picture. Hardest part is zooming in on them and keeping them centered in the frame as they don't sit still very long [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img]

[weedsportpete]

It took about two weeks for them to show up at our feeder. Maybe it helped that we already had a busy 'regular' feeder that is well stocked.

[rabbitrae90]

Thanks I'll try that

[Pat]

Robert, We have some feeders out that get mobbed. I can count up to about 8-10 at or around one 4-place feeder. The males are so aggressive and territorial that they try to dominate the feeder and not let other males visit it. The females will even share one feeding position with both of them putting their beaks into the same hole. Although they feed all day the busiest times are usually during morning and evening twilight.

During an exception to that twilight comment (mid afternoon) I tried to count all the birds at the one feeder and couldn't as they are just too active to keep track of when there is over 10 at a time so I took a wide angle photo so I could "freeze" the action and get a count.

The attachment was taken through my mom's great room window and for the careful observer there are 14 hummingbirds. There are three feeding at the feeder (one mostly hidden behind the feeder), 4 in the air near the feeder, one in the air near the thistle feeder (yellow top), 5 sitting on the horizontal arms of the feeder stand, and one that is difficult to see at this reduced resolution perched on the more distant feeder's horizontal arm to the viewer's left of the upright aout a third of the way out.

There is a female cardinal at the sunflower seed feeder to the left of the picture (silver metal top) and a goldfinch nearly hidden behind a horizontal arm with a feeder on it. The goldfinch can be identified by its yellow collor.

There are often 10-20 goldfinches and or 5-15 redwinged blackbirds but this was almost a hummingbird exclusive period.

During our hot weather, 90-105, the hummers can empty this feeder in less than a day (nearly a quart). Their mix doesn't last long enough to spoil. I was thinking of using a two liter pop botle so the feeder would only have to be refilled every other day.

Oh, I almost forgot... Neat closeup. As a sometimes serious amature and used to be sometimes pro shutterbug, I can attest that skill AND OR luck is required to get a shot like yours. I have mounted cameras on tripods with remote shutter releases and didn't do much better than you did with your snapshot.

Pat

[chrisjbell]

I have "hummingbird wars" on my porch all the time. I have one bird that has staked out a feeder and he guards it mercilessly. No other bird is allowed near it - he's like a dive bomber for any that get close.

We have another feeder on the other side of the porch that all the other birds use. They seem to get along OK - that feeder gets drained every day or so.

I just hung a new feeder near the territorial bird, and what happened? He's decided to stake it out, too. Now he has two smaller feeders in "his" domain. I'll move the new one somewhere farther away from "his" feeder.

They're sure fun to watch, and awfully cute. Makes country living so much more interesting - better than 99% of the TV thats on any more (exception being some of the home improvement type shows).