2010 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds Vol. 9

I had one, maybe two today. Haven't been looking this evening though to see if there's any new ones out there. Very sad. :(

Here's a pretty female from one of the hummer houses at Hummerfest. Hurricane Karl made Fri-Sun pretty wet, but it was still fun!

We still have 3 around....

juvie male.

Tons of them around now. They're fighting even in the rain.

I call this photo: "Look mom, no wings!"

All MIA since last week.
Thebestmissy, Wow and double wow.
Great shot Elphaba and Nanny

That was a great video, Mrs-Ed thanks for sharing it.

Sightings are becoming more sporadic. It was late when I saw this one outside. Not sure what sex.

More of a silhouette than I'd like.

Hack

Then got the idea to raise my flash, both of my pics are from around 10-12 feet away with the 400 prime lens.

The flash, the one the came on the 40D, lightened the hummer up more than I expected.

Hack

Nice shot from the Hummerfest thebestmissy!
Nice shots nanny and Elphaba!!
Hack nice shots...if the flash on my camera did not (glow the eyes) on the bird I would use it all the time. I hope by next spring I can get a Canon 580EX flash and the Better Beamer attachment which are much better than the flash on the camera...for birds anyways.

Well I have not seen a hummer in 4 days...I think I took my last hummer shots for the year now... but its been a great year! ;)

Burd, I'd never heard of a Better Beamer until now. I think I may get one in the future

Here some reviews for Adorama
http://www.adorama.com/Reviews/pwr/product-reviews/Flash-Lighting/Better-Beamer/p/FAFX4-The-Flash-X-Tender-Better-Beamer-FX-4-Flash-Output-Booster-for-the-Nikon-SB-600-amp-SB-800-Flashes-with-Lenses-300mm-and-Longer.html#ReviewHeader

Hack

Hello All,

I thought I'd share one of our hummer videos from a few days ago. This one is mild "mean-ness" wise compared to others we have. I'm sure most of you know how territorial/take no prisioners hummers can be 365 days a year. At least other birds are only territorial usually around breeding season...to put it into perspective.
This video definately shows a need for dominance...piggybacking and trying to pull out head feathers...Geesssh. I tried to make it somewhat humorous in the title...LOL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJGMqeTM1SI

This message was edited Sep 20, 2010 11:12 PM

Lol! I like how it still tries to get a drink. Mean little snots. lol

Burd,

Mean little snots is right...HA!
During one of the many zillion chases/fights here, a flock of HOSP flew away as the hummers chattered in their high pitch during one of their fights over the HOSP head and the Robin we still feed mealworms to couldn't scamper into the nearest bush fast enough! It was funny to watch, but at least for our Robin, she does seem to be very skidderish and uncomfortable around the hummers and really is annoyed by all the chattering noise...poor thing.

Love the video Susan! It's great to capture neat behavior like that.

Oh gosh!! Great video Susan!

Looks lonely, but really was just on guard duty.

nice video SusanLouise, I've only got one feeder hanging outside now. I think I only have 1 or 2 hummers left around here.

Hack

Still got at least one here. Again, I used my flash and then I enhanced its eye.

Hack

Nice shots nanny, Mrs_Ed, and Hack!!
Well I am officially calling it a season on the hummers...good luck to you all..hope your hummers stay longer than normal! See ya on the thread around May 1st 2011.

She's still here. Shot was taken this morning.

Hack

Beautiful shots Hack.
I like that lonely one too Mrs, Ed.

Finally got a tongue shot although pic is kind of bleached out.

WOW...look at that!! lol

Great catch!

I upped the nectar ratio 3 to 1 last week and seems they are loving it!

Thanks, Burd for the compliments. I thought my hummer season was over, but it's not.

Elphaba, still, that is a nice snap of the tongy hummer. I don't think I've been that lucky yet.

Nice one, nanny. I'm going in the other direction, I altered my mix to 4 : 2/3 . It doesn't ferment as fast and it appears that the hummers like it. I'm now using just one feeder. I have one in the fridge. Swapping is simple. Then, I clean the old one, refill it and put it back in the fridge. I'm also only filling the feeder half full.

Hack

This message was edited Sep 24, 2010 5:31 PM

Well the past two days have been crazy here with hummingbirds. There may only be about 4-6, but that is a lot for me. There is serious chasing and guarding going on!

…

This was from far away, but shows what is going on.

And this last one cracks me up. Every once in a while, a bird was convinced it could find some nectar from this feeder.

Nice shots everyone!

After not seeing any hummers for almost a week one came by last night.

Nice job Mrs. Ed!! Glad they are putting on a show for you too! We have one that tries the peanut feeder too...LOL!

We still have some and seem to have lots passing thru.

No pictures but we are still seeing them here in central IL. today Even in the rain.

Another fun day here today… Molly agrees!

Oh that is cute!

HA!

Glad yo guys are still seeing hummers, I can only see them through your pics. Cute Marna

She's still here. It was raining hard outside, she stayed under the porch, smart girl.

Hack

We got an itty bitty shower early this morning. Hoping we get more rain tomorrow....we really need it. So dry here farm fields have been catching fire when they are harvesting. 51 counties have Burn Bans now.

Cute girl!

from last week....

I'm still seeing 5-6 on the feeders at a time. This one is the feeder guard.

Another pose, fluffed up with eye closed.

thebestmissy - seeing 5-6 on the feeders at a time - wow, you''re lucky. Mine are down to one, maybe two now. Are the two in your post the same bird?

yep, nanny, the rain is nice. Hope it doesn't rain tomorrow - I have roofers scheduled to come out tomorrow and start putting a new roof on my house. Just my luck, it hasn't rained here for weeks and now when I'd like some bright sunny days . . . . oh, well.

Hack

Hack, yes, that's the same bird.