Our hummingbirds

[dennishoddy]

these were taken by my wife. We currently have 8 feeders out, with 40+ hummers taking advantage of them and the flowers she plants for them.
Its awesome to sit on the deck and watch them come to feed, and fight. They are very territorial, and one will guard the feeder, and take off after an intruder, leaving the feeder for a couple of them to get a meal.

 

[BadgeBunny]

Whoa! That is too cool ... We don't have many hummingbirds around here but the dove are thick as roaches in the ghetto and fat as ticks! Jackie and I will take "our" coffee out to the back yard in the mornings and watch them. They pay us no never mind and make the neatests noises while they are feeding.

 

[Hobbes]

GREAT pictures Dennis.

How many of them have already flown south for the winter?


I have 2 feeders and 3 weeks ago I probably had about 10-12 hummingbirds but now I only have 1 that I know of.

One of them was a ruby throated hummingbird that was VERY territorial and he would drive anyone off.
The others are a mix of the green ones like in your picture and a few dull brown ones that are kind of long and skinny.
Those are quite shy and timid, easily driven off.

They are fun to watch when they all meet up after sunrise or just before dark.

 

[dennishoddy]

GREAT pictures Dennis.

How many of them have already flown south for the winter?


I have 2 feeders and 3 weeks ago I probably had about 10-12 hummingbirds but now I only have 1 that I know of.

One of them was a ruby throated hummingbird that was VERY territorial and he would drive anyone off.
The others are a mix of the green ones like in your picture and a few dull brown ones that are kind of long and skinny.
Those are quite shy and timid, easily driven off.

They are fun to watch when they all meet up after sunrise or just before dark.

None have left so far.
I think (I could be wrong) that the long, and skinny ones are the young of the year??
The biggest concentration at our feeders is just before a strong front is coming in to rain. They swarm the feeders in anticipation of not getting back for awhile.

 

[Seedy]

Your wife got some great shots! I've found that hummingbirds are really hard to shoot (with a camera...not a gun...'spose that would be hard too)... I've found that if you can get them in bright enough sun to shoot at 1/2000 to 1/3000th of a second, you can "stop" their wings. You might see if her camera has a "shutter speed priority" setting, and have her crank it up as fast as it will go (and the light allow).

 

[ocphy]

great pictures, gonna have to send those to my mom. she is crazy about hummingbirds

 

[dennishoddy]

Your wife got some great shots! I've found that hummingbirds are really hard to shoot (with a camera...not a gun...'spose that would be hard too)... I've found that if you can get them in bright enough sun to shoot at 1/2000 to 1/3000th of a second, you can "stop" their wings. You might see if her camera has a "shutter speed priority" setting, and have her crank it up as fast as it will go (and the light allow).

The Sony SLR is more than capable of taking instant shots, but she only knows the auto feature.

I need to get her into a photo workshop or something where she will know why an F stop and exposure would be important.
Auto features do a really great job, but knowing how to
"compose" a pic is priceless.

 

[Biggsly]

Love the pics. We have only had four this year and they came in late. What all plants have you guys put out to bring them in?

 

[Hobbes]

Love the pics. We have only had four this year and they came in late. What all plants have you guys put out to bring them in?

I haven't planted anything at all.

Just noticed a HB fly up under my porch one day about 2 months ago looking for a feeder so I put one up.

A couple of days later I had 3 birds.
Then I had 8, then 10.

 

[dennishoddy]

Love the pics. We have only had four this year and they came in late. What all plants have you guys put out to bring them in?

The flowers are her deal....she needs to be a landscaper. We have flower beds all around the house, and around the deck. I couldn't tell you what they are. I'm a tomato and potato kind of guy when it comes to plants.

Maybe if its nice when I get home from work tomorrow, I'll take some pics of the flower beds.