FEEDING STORIES - TODAY: WRENS AND HUMMINGBIRDS


I told you a few days ago about the gourd that hangs from our porch and is right now home for the second brood of the House Wrens. The entrance hole faces the house and there is not much light available for taking a picture. To make a few clicks I used the short time when the sun actually appeared in a gap between the trees and sent some light to the backside of the gourd this evening. When the female showed up with food in her bill the light hit her just right. It still needed some fill flash to make this photo work. The Impact Quikbox Soft box does a very good job to soften the light that comes from the flash.

Another way to make a picture that tells the story about feeding the offspring, is to use the brief moment when the adult bird lands on a branch nearby and checks the surrounding before it flies up to the nest under the roof of the porch.

With the very pleasant cooler temperatures at the moment the hummingbirds use the feeders with sugar water very frequently. Some hang from the same wood beam as the gourd with the wren’s nest. I knew that Ruby-throated Hummingbirds also feed on tiny little insects, but making the click while the bird actually snapped at, what appears to be a gnat, was a first one for me.