TIME WITH HUMMINGBIRDS

Adult male Ruby-throated Hummingbird

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.

NATURE CLICKS #549 - ALLEN’S HUMMINGBIRD

Allen’s Hummingbird, San Joaquin Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary, Irvine, California

It wasn’t the first time I had an Allen’s Hummingbird in front of the lens and it was a thrill to find it in both locations this time. The second photo was made mid morning and there was no way to avoid the overcast in the picture. The speed light came to my help for boosting the colors of the feathers and was used as a remedy, with just a little hint of concentrated light.

The image above didn’t need any extra light. The late afternoon sun in the San Joaquin Marsh was all what it took to make the beauty of this hummer shine. With the water below and the other shore of the pond far away, the background was just perfect.

Allen’s Hummingbird, Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, Huntington Beach, California

NATURE CLICKS #548 - ANNA’S HUMMINGBIRD (FIRST SIGHTING)

Male Anna’s Hummingbird, San Joaquin Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary, Irvine, California

The news board at the visitor center in the San Joaquin Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary had notes from other visitors that the Anna’a Hummingbird was seen recently. It was on my wish list to find this tiny hummingbird and it was just a matter of time to spot this male perching high up in a tree. This hummer is the most common along the West Coast of the US. For me it was another first sighting that made me very happy. While looking for interesting facts about this species I read that their hearts beat at 1260 beats per minute. I think that’s quite impressive. Their iridescent red head and throat appear often different when the light changes as you can see between these two images.

HOVERING

Allen's Hummingbird

We have not seen the sun during this weekend yet. Time to release another photo from my visit at the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary, Irvine, California a month ago.

1/320 s, f/9, ISO 200, @850 mm,

Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Sigma APO Teleconverter 1.4x EX DG, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head

 

NATURE CLICKS #369 - ALLEN’S HUMMINGBIRD

Male Allen's Hummingbird, San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary, Orange County, California ----

Last Saturday in the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve I met a German pilot from Lufthansa, who did exactly the same like me, shooting pictures and enjoying it. He recommended another location that I wasn’t familiar with, the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary. This unique freshwater marsh is only a few blocks away from John Wayne Airport and as you can imagine not the quietest place on the planet. I changed my plans for Easter Sunday and decided to give it a try. All what I can say is that it was a great tip from the pilot. The checklist from the Audubon Society tells that over 282 bird species have been documented in the sanctuary. Before I even pointed my lens at any of the shore birds, I saw this Allen’s Hummingbird. This is a first sighting for me and I was eager to make a photo of it, perching high up in a tree.

WAVED GOODBYE

Ruby-throated hummingbird, immature male

As every year it’s time to wave goodbye to the hummingbirds. They all migrate to Central America for the winter, making a nonstop flight across the Gulf of Mexico while relaying on fat reserves only. The Ruby-throated Hummingbird is the only hummer breeding east of the Great Plaines. I made a last photo of this immature male hummingbird Monday morning, just before I hit the road, kinda knowing that they might be gone after my return Wednesday night. The feeders are cleaned and will be stored in the basement until the end of April next year. We usually see the first one about May 1st every year. Can’t wait for this moment again...

SAME BIRD, DIFFERENT LIGHTING

Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird

About a week ago I already showed some images of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird here in the blog. It is the only hummingbird species that we have here in eastern Iowa. Those photos were made in the rain or at least with an overcast sky. I used the Nikon SB800 speed light for boosting the colors and for making these images of hummingbirds shine, despite a gray sky

Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Yesterday morning we had a blue sky with only a few clouds, the air was clear, and there was a quality of natural light that I just liked to use for my bird photography. As a story teller about nature it is most of the time important to me to give my images a sense of place. Shooting in the rain with low light requires a longer exposure if the background needs to be an important part of the image. The flash is used only for the colors and the muted sun is still the main source of light for the photo. Yesterday the sun was out and the colors didn’t need any amplification, hence I didn't use fill flash. It also allows to shoot with much faster speed, mostly between 1/640s and 1/ 800s. In comparison, During the overcast last week my exposure was mostly below 1/250s, and sometimes going down to 1/100s. I used “sniper mode”, means one picture which each release of the shutter button. But even then, shooting with faster exposure time has the advantage of a higher keeper rate. As you can imagine, having a bird as your subject, that is capable of producing up to 50 wing beats per second, may not always lead to a tack sharp photo… ;-)

HUMMINGBIRD DAY

Well, this is what I would like to call this Saturday. Three things came together today. First, I had time on hand to pursue a particular photography project, like shooting nothing but hummingbirds. Second, it was a rainy day. This was good for two reasons. It makes for great colors without extremely high contrast, and even more important, with the rain came lower temperatures. The hummingbirds have a very high metabolism and if it is colder they have to feed a lot more frequent. Hence their visits at flowers and hummingbird feeders happen a lot more often than during a hot day. And the third thing was my motivation to really go for the story that can be told at this time of the year about the hummingbird and to add maybe a few images to my bird portfolio.

I did the whole shoot in three sessions, spread out during the day. Uploading the first one to my computer made me reconsider, learn, and try it again with a different mind set. Gosh, I love days like this… :-)