THE ANNUAL BATTLE

August 25, 2026

No summer without hummingbird photography. While the early summer was a little slow and it seemed we didn’t have as many hummers as other years, right now many birds participate in the annual battle about who ”owns” one of the three hummingbird feeders. Quite often adult males dominate but the young immatures stand their ground already. It is such a great fun to watch the merciless battles for the best spot. Each bird has its own character. It starts each day with the first daylight and doesn’t end until dusk. I have been out on the porch with the ”small bird rig” during the last few days and tried to capture some of the action. Everything happens fast and as you probably can imagine, there are quite a few missed shots.

All images: Nikon Z6 III, Nikon NIKKOR Z 100-400 mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S, Benro MSDPL46C SupaDupa Monopod, Monopod Gimbal Head, Westscott FJ80 II speed light, Westcott FJ-X3 M Universal wireless flash trigger, and self built flash bracket,

GONE SOUTH SINCE TWO WEEKS

October 15, 2025

You can tell where this bird got its name from

These two photos were made a month before I saw the last Ruby-throated Hummingbird during this year’s season at the feeders that hang at our porch or from a shepherd’s hook in the front yard. The final buzz from the wings of a migrating hummer was detected the last day in September this year. Nevertheless, we still left the feeders out until now. No reason to throw the sugar water that is used for hummingbird food away since many wasps used them still for feeding. Our pollinators are as important as the birds!

We only have this one species of hummingbirds here in Iowa and every nature lover who lives here will be happy to see them again at the end of April or during the first days of May next year.

I shot these images from a tripod and with just a hint of flash to reveal the bird’s colors during the late afternoon, and with limited natural light here in the woods.

Male juvenile hummingbird displays strength against the rivals near a feeding source

BLURRY WINGS

August 17, 2025

It is a good problem to have not knowing what to post first, because many things wrap around my mind and most important, plenty of clicks have been made recently.

I’m still learning the ins and outs of my new designed ”Small Bird Rig”. If you haven’t followed the blog lately, click on the link to see what I try to accomplish when photographing small birds https://exnerimages.net/blog/2025/7/8/gear-talk-testing-a-new-small-bird-rig.

Talking about small birds, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird is the smallest we have here in our neck of the woods and across Iowa. I shot plenty of images without applying a speed light in the past, but it is the subtle hint of extra light that reveals the colors of this beautiful hummingbird (German: Kolibri) much better and can make the difference between a mediocre photo and the ones I like.

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds beat their wings between 50 and 80 times per second according to some sources, reaching speeds up to 200 times per second. The aspect of story telling in my photography leads intentionally to pictures that have some blur in the wings. It’s just the way we see the bird and I don’t really care about an image that shows frozen wings. It is the humming sound we all love about these birds and I think our photos should reflect this aspect.

Technically I think it’s not difficult to walk away with an image where the bird has frozen wings. Employ a higher shutter speed, mostly accomplished with much higher ISO settings and by using the speed light as your main light source, and you will get there… Well, the story about this tiny little bird may not be told that way, so feel free to bare with the blurry wings in my photos…. 😊

Nikon Z6 III, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, Westscott FJ80 II speed light,

GEAR TALK: TESTING A NEW ”SMALL BIRD RIG”

July 8, 2025

Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Little Maquoketa Valley, eastern Iowa

I haven’t done a blog post about a piece of gear in a long time, but I designed and built this addition to the wildlife kit and just started testing today. Hummingbirds are the ”ice on the cake” from late April until October and I really love the tiniest of all birds we have here in our woods. Well, today they became my ”test dummies”. There are always new ways to improve photography and the Ruby-throated Hummingbird was a perfect subject to test my new, what I will call ”Small Bird Rig”. Below is a picture of this combination and actually there isn’t that much new in the essential setup. The Nikon Z6III is combined with the Z600 f/6.3 and it is mounted on tripod for this photo. The Westcott FJ80II speed light with dome diffuser attached has been in my arsenal also since awhile. The new part is the flash bracket, designed to fit my already existing equipment. It is very light and allows shooting handheld, on a tripod, or on a monopod. The position of the flash will not change if the camera is turned quickly to portrait orientation or back. Flash works on the inverse square law (remember physics!) and getting it closer to the subject let the light wrap around the birds much better. No, I don’t employ the flash of the FJ80II as the main source of light. The only purpose to use it for small bird photography is to push the colors of their plumage. The light is reflected by the feathers and the colors of the bird become more natural and accentuated under a lush green canopy of the trees or during a day with heavy overcast. Make two pictures, one with and and one without flash of the same scene, and you will be surprised what beautiful difference this can make.

The other change to my previous setup is the use of a Westcott FJ-X3M wireless trigger on top of the camera. This eliminates the cable connection between camera and speed light, which has been often a big limitation for action when out in the field.

Today’s test shots with hummingbirds were all about finding the right settings for camera and speed light. A lot more needs to be done. I know this article is mainly written for my fellow wildlife photography friends and not so much for the visitors that give a dam about the technical part of photography. I hope you still enjoy the photos of this very first test!

NEW NIKON Z LENS - FIRST SHOTS

September 15, 2024

A new tool made it into the gear locker. The Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S lens was delivered last week during my absence from home. Today I’m not writing about it, or why I wanted it in my camera bag, or even how it is performing. I just like to share some photos I made over the weekend with the new lens.

I still think the best place for trying out a piece of new camera gear for the first time is at home or in a well known local area. Reading the manual (I know, not everybody likes that part) and trying and testing in a controlled environment is the key for me to find out if a new acquisition is matching my expectations or if it has the potential to exceed them. In the front yard or any other place you have shot hundreds of times before, where you know how the light will hit your subject, it is easy to compare your results with everything you have done before at the same location.

Well, there is not much activity at this time of the year in our woods. Even very few local bird species come to a feeder or bird bath at the moment. Most of the migrating birds have left and headed south already, except for the smallest one. We still have quite a few Ruby-throated Hummingbirds coming through, stop at our feeders, stay for a while, and fight with other hummers about the ownership of a feeder. Usually this will end at the end of September or in early October.

In my blog I always have tried to be a helpful source for other photography friends and shared my impressions about locations, things that I learned from other photographers, and of course, the experience with any part of photo gear I use. Can you tell how much I’m excited about the chance to improve my visual story telling with this new lens? I will share what I hope to learn in the next few weeks about this new wildlife lens with you, so please stay tuned…

All images: Nikon Z6II, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S

NO SUMMER WITHOUT HUMMERS

September 1, 2024

I can’t let the summer go by without making a few pictures of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. I guess the birds who have been in our woods during the breeding season have moved on already and it seems we see different hummers every day now on their way south to Central America. However, this juvenile defended one of the hummingbird feeders fiercely and didn’t let any other bird even come close all afternoon.

I experimented quite a bit today with different exposure times or exposure compensation for the background and used also the Westscott FJ80 II speed light. In the picture above the bird was backlit and I froze the hummer at 1/4000s and let the translucency of the wings tell the story. The sun didn’t hit the front element of the lens directly because I shot from underneath the roof of our porch. A hint of flash made sure the body of the bird got some light as well.

The photo below was shot three hours later, about mid afternoon, when the sunlight wasn’t as harsh anymore. With almost the same settings (f/8, ISO8000, -1EV) but a shutter speed of only 1/400s the result was totally different. Of course, with such a slow shutter the wings are not frozen, which I actually prefer in most of my photos of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds.

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, Westscott FJ80 II speed light, Westscott Magnetic diffusion dome

LAST STRAGGLER?….I LET YOU KNOW!

October 7, 2023

Oh, I hope you don’t mind I interrupt my photo story about the Minnesota Northwoods for an actual story that took place at home.

We watch the appearance of birds here in the woods on the bluffs of the Little Maquoketa River in eastern Iowa since almost 19 years now and any time when we think, we have seen it all, there is another surprise. You almost can set your clock for the migration schedule of the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, the tiniest bird we enjoy here. With little. exceptions they arrive here May 1st, sometimes a day or so earlier. In the fall we wave good by to them around the last day of September, never later than October 2nd. Well, we kept two hummingbird feeders hanging from the roof of our porch just for these stragglers this week. We had ”summer weather” until two days ago, with nice warm temperatures and to no surprise some migrating hummers found the feeders every day. Yesterday autumn has finally arrived, with temperatures at a high of 12 ºC (54 ºF), and I just thought, well, I guess I can take the feeders down to winter storage. Oh, I’m glad I didn’t!

Sitting on the porch after work last evening another migrating Ruby-throated Hummingbird visited briefly for a boost of its energy level. As indicated before, it’s the latest we have seen a hummingbird coming through here. I guess the feeders with sugar solution will stay over the weekend, just to be save…

Today’s photo is not from the ”last straggler” this week. It was shot mid July this year, but this male was quite a character and I thought you may enjoy my sharing of this photo with you. Hey, fall is here, who knows what comes next!

REAL NECTAR, MAYBE A BETTER TASTE?

August 21, 2023

As already reported I was out in the yard last weekend and tried to capture the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds in flight, while they hover at a blossom or just near a hummingbird feeder. We feed a clear sugar-water solution, with the recommended mix of 1:4, and our feeders have been very popular all summer long. The metabolism of these tiny birds is just incredible and we go through quite a bit of liquid. But beside that we have lots of garden and wildflowers in our yard and their nectar has maybe even a better taste, who knows? While shooting near a feeder is more predictable, because the birds use them more often, but including a flower in the frame is more desirable for the photographer. Bee balm and the purple coneflowers have been a favorite in July and early August but they are almost all gone now. The wild growing phlox is still plentiful and has nectar as well. The hummers stick their bill deep into the blossoms in order to get the nutritious meal with their long tongue. The light was fading away already a bit at 7pm. With a hint of flash, softened with the Quickbox Micro softbox and a dome diffuser in front of the speed light, the colors of the hummingbird and the phlox blossoms had still a chance to shine.

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, Nikon SB 800 speed light, Impact Quikbox Micro Softbox, @ 600 mm, 1/800 s, f/8, ISO 6400,

WATCHING THE COMPETITION

August 13, 2023

We were not home this weekend and a concern was if all of our Ruby-throated Hummingbirds would be still here after our return. We have a lot of wildflowers in the front yard at the moment but this is not enough and the hummers have consumed every day almost half a gallon of sugar water (about 1.75 liters) from the feeders that hang from the porch. When we returned today I was happy to see that at least five hummingbirds showed up after I filled the feeders again. Last week we still had about a dozen of them, but the birds we see might not be the same that grew up here, since they probably started migrating to the south already.

I spent one evening on the deck with the camera last week and tried to capture some birds in flight, hovering at flowers in the front yard. As so often in wildlife photography it didn’t work out, but a few pictures of a young male perching in a maple were shot. Even if they sit down for a moment, there is a constant battle with other birds about the best feeding places going on. The picture tells the story, the hummingbird is in for a rest but watches the other competitors constantly as they try to approach ”his” feeder or the flowers around.

TIME WITH HUMMINGBIRDS

July 15, 2023

It’s this time of the year when we have to refill each of our three hummingbird feeders twice a day. The young Ruby-throated Hummingbirds compete heavily over the food sources with the adults. Yes, we have many flowers in our yard but this wouldn’t be enough to keep them all happy. The male adults often perch near a feeder in small trees or bushes and defend ”their” feeder vigorously against any intruder. However, they are outnumbered by the juveniles and females and so every bird has finally a chance to drink and boost their energy.

The best time to shoot the birds perched in a little maple in front of our porch is early or midmorning. No flash was required to reveal the brilliant colors of the hummingbird’s feathers.

Juvenile male buzzing and hovering near a feeder

The second photo was made the night before, when the sun was already low and behind the trees. This time I had a speed-light mounted to the camera but softened its output with a small on-camera softbox. The Nikon Nikkor 70-200, f/4 lens was used at 200 mm in order to move quickly and follow the action of the hummingbirds while they hover near the feeders. I love the buzz of their wings and for me that has to be part of the story I try to tell with a photo of a hummingbird in flight. It is possible to freeze the action of the wings with a faster flash output and a shutter speed of about 1/1600s or faster, but hummingbirds are constantly in motion and I prefer to shoot with 1/200s for the motion blur of the wings. This is maybe a little more difficult and not every click may lead to a good result.

LAST DAYS WITH THE HUMMINGBIRDS

September 21, 2022

Ready for a “dog fight’ with the competition. Even during migration the young hummingbirds still battle for the best feeding source.

Even if I don’t have time to watch the hummingbirds frequently during the day, I know that most of them have started their fall migration to Central America. The best indicator is the level of liquid in our hummingbird feeders. We have four feeders hanging from the porch or in the front yard and during peak times in August, when the new generation is buzzing around, we cook about 1.7 liters each day of the 1:4 sugar / water mixture. The demand has dropped considerably during the last couple weeks. The birds we see at the moment are most likely different ones every day. The last hummer is usually seen at the end of September or sometimes during first week in October. They need a lot of energy to make the long journey south. Many of them cross the gulf of Mexico in a single flight. That is amazing! For almost seven long months we will be without them. Next year, at the end of April we expect them back as always.

I photographed this young male earlier this month and I’m always wondering if the birds ever come back to the same place again. I guess I’ll never know…

BATTLE IN FULL SWING

September 1, 2022

It took me over an hour this evening to get this particular image I had in mind, a shot from the front side of one of our Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. Getting a sharp image from the side is a lot more predictable when they hover at a hummingbird feeder. I’m sitting only about ten feet away from the feeder, barely just above the minimum focus distance at 2.6 m of the SIGMA 150-600 S lens. The depth of focus is very shallow, just about 5 mm with the lens wide open at f/6.3. The hummingbirds are so darn fast and even if they hover for a second, the lens does not always obtain a sharp focus fast enough.

The stress level of our hummers has increased lately. We have probably about a dozen of them around here. Not that they only battle vigorously among each other for the best feeder, because we all know they like to “own” a feeder with this delicious sugar solution in it. No, here in our front yard they also have to fight off at least four different species of wasps that also like the sweet content of a hummingbird feeder. I can tell, the hummingbirds have a certain respect for the wasps. The young immature male in the photo above uses this little branch, I mounted just above one of the feeders, as his “guarding perch”. While the competition mostly buzzes above him and his eyes follow every move, he just got distracted by a larger wasp below him when the click was made. Unfortunately I didn’t have the wasp in my shot but the gesture of the tiny bird is priceless.

NATURE CLICKS #526 - RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD

July 31, 2022

Here is a couple more pictures of yesterday’s photo session. I believe the first is a male juvenile, too young for having already a ruby-red throat. Their appetite is not less than that of an adult bird and they feed on the same flowers as the butterfly I showed you in my last blog post. It was shot with the same setup and a little flash helps again to reveal the colors.

This is the dominant male, “the bully”, who likes to perch in a small maple, just next to a hummingbird feeder between the flowers. He will chase everybody away who comes close to that feeder or any flowers nearby. Hummingbirds are very protective of their territory and use a series of vocal declarations or visual displays to scare any intruder away. I chose this photo for the hummer’s gesture, with one of the feathers in the bill after he had cleaned and preened his plumage.

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, Nikon SB 800 speed light, MAGMOD MagBeam flash extender @ 600 mm

LOOKING FOR THE LAST ONES

September 27, 2021

I was sitting on the porch this evening, knowing that it might be the last chance to say goodbye to a few Ruby-throated Hummingbirds that stop on their way south for a short drink at one of the remaining flowers in the yard, or at least at one of our nectar feeders. The migration wave ends here at the end of September, with an occasional sighting of a hummingbird in early October. Looking a little more critical at this photo you may recognize that this picture was taken at an earlier time of the year. There aren’t enough flowers in the yard anymore to make for such a colorful background. Well, it will be seven month from now until one of us will say, I saw the first hummingbird of the season!

YARD PHOTOGRAPHY

August 27, 2021

I have been an advocate for shooting in the yard since a long time. It is the proving ground for practicing our skills, for becoming familiar with new equipment, and it can be an interesting habitat that teaches us how all things in nature depend on each other. In our woods it seems the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds that were born here earlier this summer have moved towards the south already and other hummers that grew up further north have taken their places at our feeders, or use the nectar from the flowers in the yard. It’s easy to take a photo of a resting bird, but the photos with spread out and buzzing wings have a much greater impact to the viewer. This juvenile male returned several times for a couple seconds to the flowers of our hosta plants. It made sense to pre-focus on the flowers and just wait until the hummer lands again. Getting the AF sensor onto the eye and throwing a hint of flash at the bird is all what it takes. With 200 mm focal length you don’t want the camera on a tripod. Handholding gives you more flexibility and speed in the process.