Hummingbird Adventures # 13

Three quarter view, but worth it! : D
WIB,
SW

That green on green is pretty, SW!

Seeing the hummies out and about in the near-dark, SW, is odd, isn't it? Quite a catch. And the flowered ones? Very very nice, girl!

Linda

Twin, they come out at dusk, to fuel up for the night. I have seen the silly ones inside the gh, fly at night, if the lights inside the gh are on. That I think is strange. Got to be disorientating to the hummers.
Chores to do, and more photos to take.
If you don't hear from me soon, it's only because I'm out having fun! : )
Plan to post more this evening, and probably on Sunday as well. Got me some happy plans for the weekend.
This one was taken yesterday. Believe she is Sweetie Pie. More soon.

Here she is feeding, just before dark again.

The new guard perch on the outside of the entrance to the gh. He waits, and when another hummer flys into the gh, the chase is on. Meanwhile 3rd hummer sneaks in and has a meal. LOL!

Late in the day, but was surprised again to see color on Sweetie Pie. The others were visiting, but I was busy with other things and couldn't get good photos of them. I know Zippy was chittering at me. : )
last photo from yesterday.
More later.
WIB!
SW

Cute SW, your little guard needs a name like my Duke!

A new species on one of my HB feeders today. I'm calling it a Gray Tree Frog. :) I have a few of these little frogs around. I hear them a lot, but can seldom find them. Like a Chameleon, they have the ability to change colors to match their background. I think I saw this same frog in a little bird bath in my shade bed too.

SW, good to see you have such frequent visitors. A tip for photoing HBs on feeders. They are so small, often times the auto focus on your camera won't pic them up. In your photos, it's picking up the wicker furniture in the background and focusing on it. You can correct this by focusing on the body of the feeder and while keeping the shutter button slightly depressed, swing over to frame the bird.

reddirtretiree,
Thank you so much for the suggestions on how to take better photos of the hummers. I'll put them into practice as soon as I can. The ones I post today will be the last for a while.
I never saw a grey tree frog when living in Lawton, must be native to the Norman area. : ) He's awfully cute.

You are all invited to the funeral for my point & click camera. After taking some photos this morning she gave up the ghost. Now the shutter won't open all the way. It's possible that I could get it repaired. Not sure if that would correct the milky spot it has developed recently in the center of the photos. Might need a new lens. Or better yet a new camera. : (
Oh well, if wishes were fishes, we'd all cast nets.
On the Hummer photos I've tried, but the milky spot caused by the cracked lens, is in the very center, so I tend to aim/focus on the center of the feeder and then crop the hummer. Oh well. I hope that others are willing to share their expertise and photos. I hope that this thread doesn't end, but if it does, I guess that it was meant to be.
I don't have any good clear photos, but I have color. So I give you the photos I was able to take before my camera passed on.
duc, he does have a name. That's Zoom! He is the Guardian of the feeder. Zoom this morning. I can tell by his markings even when I can't see color. It also helps that he has a distinctive zoom sound when he flies.

Here he is again.

Here Zoom is feeding. His wing is obscuring his red head. : )

Last photo before the camera died. I have to hand it to Zoom he is very protective of that feeder. He wouldn't let anyone else eat from it. A Black Chinned flew in, but he went down to the lantana to eat. Zoom didn't care about that.
I'll keep you posted, and when I can I'll send photos too.
Sadly, I'm going to miss sharing my Hummer's antics and adventures with you all.
WIB,
SW

SW, so sorry to hear about the demise of your P&S. We will miss your posts until your issue is resolved!!!

My recommendation is to get a new camera. This voice of experience will tell you it would cost more to repair your camera than to get one with new technology and more bells and whistles. But you might put a posting on the photo forum and get the advice of experts.

Well, ima, I could always send word pictures. LOL!
WIB,
SW

Shoot, I'm really sorry to hear about your camera, SW :-(. I hope you're able to get something worked out so you can get back to snapping some pics! I've really enjoyed seeing and reading about all of your hummingbird adventures!

Reddirtretiree, that is an awesome pic of your "hummingbird." LOL

SW...you just have to get a new camera. How else can we keep up with the adventures of Zoom, Sweetie Pie, Trickster and the rest. And don't forget the frogs.


Reddirtretiree...that is one awesome frog!!!

Reddirt, cute little froggie. He looks like a little tiny guy! Thank goodness he doesn't turn red or ya might have missed him again, huh?

SW, waaaaa waaaaaaaaa WAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Linda

great shots everyone,here are some rubies

2

3

4

5

SAVED THE BEST FOR LAST,

What can I say, except that I'm really touched by your support. You know who you are, and how much I appreciate you. : )
I'll keep you posted as to their activities. At least I might be able to see where they are nesting. That will take some time and patience tracking them. LOL!
I did find out where Zoom was perching and it would have made such a pretty photo.
I am training my Wisteria to grow over the patio to provide green shade in the summer. So restful. When the misters are on in the late afternoon before the sun goes over the hill out back, the patio gets really hot. When the ocean breeze makes it's afternoon appearance (almost every day), it is like being in a wind tunnel.
That's part of the reason I moved the feeder just inside the gh. I really hate it when the wind blows so hard that the feeder spills out all the nectar.
Anyway, both in the morning and in the afternoons, Zoom likes to perch on a loop of clothesline that is temporarily up in the Wisteria. I think the painter used it to support the Wisteria when he was painting. Anyway, picture Zoom perched on this loop of clothesline, looking like he is a little kid swinging on a swing set, with the wind just blowing away.
He really likes it in the afternoon, when the mister is on, then the wind blows the mist right on him. He sits there swinging away and preening himself. He really looks like he enjoys it. So much so that sometimes he lets another hummer inside to eat without harassing them.
I've noticed that he never seems to harass the females as much as the other males, which I shouldn't find unusual but he also shows preference for Zippy over Sweetie Pie, when it comes to allowing the females to feed. I guess I should see where she goes after she feeds. Time for the binoculars and I know where they are!

Welcome, and thanks huggergirl for sharing your photos. I like your style!
You have a very attractive setting for your feeder. Been trying to figure out where I can put one outside the gh where it will be sheltered from the wind.
I have an insatiable curiosity about others experiences. Are you using a telephoto lens? Are those all the same Ruby Throated Hummer (RTH)? Have you tried to crop your photos so you can see more detail? That was something I always had to do with the point and click.
May it rest in peace.
DH is talking about getting me a new camera, but right now we have a lot of expenses with the trip to Oklahoma coming up. We'll see if we can swing it. I'm not going to fret about it. Especially if you all keep this thread alive by submitting your hummingbird adventures.
I'll start a new thread when I find a suitable photo from my collection. It will probably be one previously posted, but hey, some are worth seeing again. : )
WIB,
SW

Miss seeing and hearing about your "feathered children", SW!

I was having coffee in the front courtyard about 6:30 this morning in the corner that has the feeder & 2 fuchsias. The female Anna's that hangs out there came and hovered about 2 feet in front of me---three times. Like, "What are YOU doing here? Did you bring any of those darn cats?" It was so cool! And of course, no camera.....I'll have to try that exercise again WITH the camera!

Hey, didja happen to notice on the CA forum there's a new DGer who just moved to Menifee?
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1010861/

huggergirl.....nicely done!! How on earth did you pick out the best. LOL They are all great.

SW...good description, I could see Zoom on his swing. I live in a wind tunnel too, only not from the ocean. My hummers have been sneeking in while we aren't working. Going to pick up the main boards for the deck tomorrow, almost done with the banging. After that it will just be clean up, they're used to that. The level in the feeder has been steadily going down and I did see them early one morning, so they haven't given up on me.

Nope, Sally, they just don't strange changes in their routines. They like to have things be predictable. They have for instance gotten used to the noisy fans in the gh. They've gotten used to me playing my music loud, and singing loud too. They seem to ignore me when I'm in the pool, although they do fly a lot lower when only my head is poking out of the water. LOL! They've even learned to ignore groups of people hanging around, but won't come near if the people are too close to the feeder. Or if there is strange noises and people around. They never have a problem with Lone Wolf, they come visit him special. They are just being sneaky.
I like painting word pictures too.
Yep, I did see we have another DG'er from Menifee. I try to send Welcome notes to all new CA members. Hopefully, some will respond and jump into our forums.
I know that those of us who've been around for a bit try to help the newbies when they ask, but sometimes you know how it is, people are afraid to ask publicly and feel more comfortable asking in private. It's all good!
Just trying to spread some positive energy around, and pay what I've received from members of DG forward.
New Thread for H.bird adventures tomorrow!
WIB,
SW

singingwolf,Iam using a panisonic DMC TZ5 ,9.1 pix,10x optical zoom, 28mm wide ,tele macro,16xdigital zoom,point and shoot.It is new so Iam still playing with it,have not done any cropping yet,too busy in the gardens.I think I like it ,this is my 3rd point and shoot,a camera is the the only peice of electronics that I always buy the replacement warranty,and Ive used it 2 times now.1st kodak died no fixing,2nd kodak a biggggg lemmon it was a 400.00 lemmon,loved kodak software really miss that.soo now a new panisonic ,new software,I ll get it soooner or later !!!I also shoot with a 16 yr. old nikkon 5005 35 -70 macro lens,shes a trusty old soul !!!

I liked my Nikon point and shoot, and am looking into a better but not too dear Nikon, BB has a sale going on right now. I did post a query on the Cameras and Photos thread but have only had one response.
Warrantys are good to have. No doubt about it, especially with electronics.
It's late, I'd best be getting to bed.
WIB,
SW

Check reviews & prices for the camera you're interested in on Amazon, too. They also have a forum area; I posted a question about the DSLR I think I want, and got several very helpful responses. I like the reviews on there because they're typically from real people who aren't experts, but often someone really knowledgeable chimes in as well.

SW, you have dmail.

Thanks KC. i got it.
I'll have to keep this short, I can"t type very well with one hand. Today, due to an accident, I sliced my pinky finger open. It is going to be fine. Required 7 stitches, luckily Lone Wolf was here and he took me into urgent care. Will give me time to research it
I have to take a trip in the near future to OK. With my hand dinged up and no new photos to use to start the threads. I am going to use one from March 16th this year, to start the new one. I hope you all will help me keep it going.

Speaking of which, here is the new page: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1012105/

WIB.
Jules