2010 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds Vol. 7

The hummzinger guy has become quite the poser for me!!

Burd & Burn...nice action shots!

Cute Red! We have one that hangs out by the finch feeders!!

Holy Guacamole,

I had TWO at the same time!

Congratulations Mrs Ed!!!!!!

Great pics everyone!

Wonderful photos everyone!!

Burd, do you have the bee guard on your Hummzinger? That's why I bought mine, but haven't had to put the guards on yet.

ALRIGHT MRS ED!!!! WOO HOO!!!!!

A pair of RT's on one of my feeders. The one with his back to the camera is a juvie male.

Yay Mrs-Ed, so happy they found your place. I'm sure they'll find all sort of sweet treats, in your yard. You'll probably be getting mine soon too.

Nice shots everyone! Burn, nice shots that last one is excellent!
reddirt, Nice shots! When do your RT's usually leave? That's if they do.
nanny, really like your first hummzinger shot! Lots of times I hope they sit for a minute so I can catch a shot of them taking off.
Mrs_Ed, look's like things are picking-up there...congrats we know you've been waiting for them and that bird-cam...is it motion triggered?
Duc, my feeder's are (First Nature) like Mrs_Ed's in the bird-cam. Have never seen the bee guards..if they have them for my type.
Had a few minutes before work so bumped the shutter up too 1/3000 of a sec. to see if I could stops those wings.

This message was edited Aug 27, 2010 11:28 PM

not an easy task..even at 1/3000..

must have been turning..got one wing though...last.

Burd, that first one is really cool!

Thanks Burd, I was close to that one, behind the window. He couldn`t hear the noise of the camera , while it focused and shot.

man, you guys have taken some great pics.

I have one more to add to the mix.

Here's what I believe is a juvy male. Am I correct?

BT

That is correct Hack. :-)

No kidding, Hack. I'm in awe of so many of your great shots and hope if there's another DG Calendar contest this year, you'll pick a few to enter. That Hummer shot of yours yesterday, Burn, perching in the Fuschias is just incredible.

Hello All,

Everyone's pics are wonderful! I apologize for not being able to be on here often right now...just overwhelmed with "stuff" and hundreds of pics/videos to sort through. We've been having LOTS of hummer action...the most ever. So far as of today we have had 24 hummers migrate through here since July 24th...and it's not even September yet! At this rate we may reach 75-80+ by the 1st week of October...and we are gobsmacked! That will be double last year's final tally.
I'll share some pics on another day when I have more time to sort through them.

For now, I want to share one of our videos from yesterday.

As most of you know, it's normal for a bird to be territorial, especially during breeding season. Additionally, some birds take it to the extremes, and all year long, not just during breeding
season. And those that know hummers well realize they are no exception.

Here's an example of pure evil...A very bad female hummer!
You know, there's nothing like getting a facial with claws...
http://tinyurl.com/27wy7mf

Wow...mean is right..lol Nice Capture SusanLouise!

Have a couple from today...5 days left.

First shot shaded but..

he turns his head...

a close-up of a juvenile male.

last shot ...I thought this was a neat shot...only re-sized it.

Great pics Burd! I just love the adult male's gorget when it flashes!!! :)

What did you mean about 5 days left?

Thanks for the congratulations everyone.

Went to a "hummingbird festival" yesterday, basically it is just some banding going on and other learning opportunities. There were 11 banded in the time I was there, about 4 hours.

here is the second release. They sit there for a while because they don't really know they are free.

Here is how they captured. there were three cages in the area, each has a feeder in it. You can see the wire leading off of this. It leads to a person observing, when a hummingbird goes in, he presses a button and the door drops, capturing a bird. Two others were on remote control, not wire. Then the bird is placed in a little bag, awaiting banding.

I took more movies than still photos, when i get those posted I'll be back with a link. One last photo though, check out the expression on the woman in the background. Priceless!


Oh, and that camera is motion activated. It takes photos or 10-second videos. You can also put it on time lapse. Granny Grunt made me buy one. I made dellrose buy one. :D

What an experience to have had. Did you get to hold one? Yes, that woman's expression is worth bottling.

No I did not get to hold one. I got to feel the heartbeat though. A really fast vibration!!!

SusanLouise - that was some hummer skirmish. Never saw anything like it.

And Burd, that closeup of the juvy male is incredible!

Mrs_Ed, quite an experience, thanks for sharing.

Hack

This message was edited Aug 29, 2010 10:33 AM

I think this is the same juvy I captured earlier. Burd, I sure wish I could have used 1/3000, but it was too overcast here. In fact, it is raining right now.

Hack

Susan, nice capture. I have seen something similar here.

Mrs. Ed very cool!

Awww...come to my house, they will be here until mid-late November!

I forgot to mention something I learned from the bander yesterday. He said that if anyone has over 20 birds at one time, he likes to hear about it so that he can come band. He also said that he leaves his feeders up until after thanksgiving because other species might be coming through. I guess he had a broad billed hummer before late in the year.

I also asked him about my attempts to attract birds. He said that he doesn't even put his feeders out until August 1st because he lives in an area that does not have a lot of trees for nesting, so he doesn't really have them around either. But we have a decent amount of trees in this area.

Burd, how do you know they will leave in 5 days?

Mine start to leave in September but it can very and even then they don't all leave at once. Last year was the earliest they have left from here in the 3 years we have lived here.

Very interesting information Mrs. Ed. I leave mine out into November too. DH thinks I am nuts but I have heard of stragglers and such can happen.

Great shots Kim, Nanny, Hack and Mrs Ed!

I leave my feeders out till Thanksgiving each year.

I'm going to start a new thread as this one is getting pretty long. I'll be back with the link.

Burd,

Are you talking about your resident birds from the summer? I still don't understand. I can't predict when our migrant hummers will leave...they each have their own variable time. Additionally, surely you also have many migrants that will pass through too?! :)
We still have hummers here til around the 9th of October...and it's not even September yet! :D

Okay here is the link to the NEW THREAD http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1125874/