A different species this time, Black-chinned instead of the Broad-tailed Hummingbirds I’ve been posting lately.
1/5000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
In some years patches of Rocky Mountain Bee Plant (Cleome serrulate) flourish on Antelope Island and elsewhere in northern Utah and when you can find bee plant you have a very good chance of finding hummingbirds. These photos of a female black-chinned were taken on the island in August of 2017 but both shots are new to my blog.
The nectar-laden flowers are often covered with a variety of insects but I don’t see any in these two shots.
1/5000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
This is possibly the same hummingbird on the same August morning but on a different clump of flowers. I like her wing position better in this shot but I’m feeling a little less positive about the out of focus flower behind and beneath her rump.
This is the second summer in a row it’s been very difficult to find bee plant on the island or anywhere else around here so most of the hummers I’ve been photographing have been Broad-tailed Hummingbirds in the mountains. Bee plant flowers most prolifically in early August so there’s still time to find patches of it if they exist.
Thankfully the flowers are long-lasting.
Ron
PS – Like much of the rest of the country it’s hotter than Hades around here (my thermometer registered 105 yesterday) and now fires are springing up in the nearby Wasatch Mountains and elsewhere. Between high temps, fires and smoke and monsoon clouds forecast to move in this week my bird photography trips may be curtailed significantly for a while.
Another wild card that may affect my shooting activities is Utah’s crazy-ass July 24th Pioneer Day holiday. For days before and after Utah goes berserk with fireworks (much moreso than they do for July 4th) that typically keep me awake, angry and bug-eyed through much of the night so then I have to sleep in during the best early morning light for photography. I’m not a Mormon but my Dudley ancestors were Mormon Pioneers and I’m very proud of and interested in that family history and would love to celebrate it. But those damned fireworks ruin it for me and the holiday does nothing for me but piss me off.
So I may or may not be reaching back into my archives more often than usual for my posts for a while. Just a heads up.
Gorgeous shots Ron!
Charlotte
I think the out-of-focus flower behind her makes her stand out more. I was wondering if that is pollen on her wings.
Fantastic photos! I especially like the first one! Thanks. Sorry about the fires, smoke and noise! Doesn’t sound fun.
Thank you, Joanne. It isn’t. At least the one fire we had is apparently out now.
Ron, love the hummingbird and bee plants. I always find them to be such an amazing bird. Love the comment about the hummingbird chasing away the Red-Neck because it was too close….feisty!
As far as the 24th, I don’t celebrate it and hope it comes and goes fast. Posting old photos is just fine with me. I look forward to all of your postings. Thank you, Ron
Thanks on all counts, Alice.
Lovely, lovely photo and bird. These little guys amaze me. A bird packed in that small of a package! And to top it off the females do all the work to build the nest and raise usually 2 young. The males arrive first and leave first. The females and juveniles stay longer fatten up then migrate. Feisty as hell. I watched the mother black chinned in our cherry tree go after the Cooper’s hawk sitting too close to her nest. She would go right for the face and eyes of the hawk.
Fireworks have been banned in our area, we get a few behind our house due to the gully and parking lot. Still it has been very quiet the last few years. Drones seem to have taken their place. I might have to take up target practice!
I’d love to have seen your hummer lady to after that Cooper’s, April.
Maybe you should take up falconry and train your bird to think drones mean food… Too bad they have nasty propellers.
Wonder if the guy planted the fish also……..Mixed feelings about it surviving…. 😉 https://www.cnn.com/videos/travel/2019/07/22/eagles-gopro-selfie-newssource-travel.cnn/video/playlists/cnn-travel-top-news-stories/
More than one drone has fallen prey to “target practice” as I understand it…………
I hate those damn things.
They have their place just NOT where most used them…………… 🙁
The Black-chinned Hummingbird and Cleome stellata make me wish I still lived in Utah to see them.
The Pioneer Day thinly disguised quasi-religious pyrotechnics makes me glad I don’t.
I really enjoyed the last part of your comment, Lyle – so much so I read it aloud to Mia while we were out shooting this morning.
I’d probably blow the ID if I saw her from the back. Thank you for sharing these. Her head shape seems so different from the Broad-Taileds’. I wonder if we might see a side-by-side of the two species in some upcoming post (just thought I’d give you something to do 😉 ).
Hope the 24th won’t be as horrible as expected. Fireworks + hot temps + dry tinder + stupid politicians/people with lighters = potential for disaster. I, of course, go right to the thought of all the animals that are going to be scared out of their wits; hope the shelters are prepared for it. We had a huge adoption event and the municipal shelter arranged for fosters for several of their animals, so we were ready for the post-4th influx.
Here’s hoping you can get some sleep.
“I wonder if we might see a side-by-side of the two species in some upcoming post”
I might have to consider that, Marty. Maybe include a Rufous Hummingbird too.
Ooooh! That would be great! My issue is often with identification (not just with Hummingbirds, but with a lot of avian species). Seeing more side by side shots would probably help me to better spot differences.
Glad you were able to get out to do some shooting this morning.
1/5000, f/6.3, ISO 800,nice shooting, Butch!
Thanks for noticing, Martha. With hummers in flight it’s shutter speed, shutter speed and more SS. But I won’t use flash to get it.
Hang in there, Ron. Take deep breaths.
It doesn’t help, Shelley. Not one bit. It just gives me more oxygen to fuel my pissed off attitude.
I so agree with you on the fireworks here in Utah. I moved here from southern Idaho and we had 24th celebrations there as well, but nothing like here. They even fly the nations flag which I don’t understand. This is only a State holiday. I have had many black chin males at my feeders. They seem to be abundant in my neighborhood. Your pictures shows so much detail that is mostly impossible to see with the naked eye. It is beautiful and not a negative to have it from your stash. Thanks.
Thank you, Betty. For some reason I don’t see the males very often.
Cute little devil! 🙂 The flower behind the butt in the 2nd photo is a bit distracting BUT it does show off the cute little feet…… 🙂 Lots of “fuel” for fires out there this year here. In theory the hot weather isn’t supposed to last too long this round, BUT! Creek warming up and smelling “swampy” – any trout fishing will be disappearing. Fortunately, we don’t have a big issue with fireworks where we live. That being said there is a gun range not too far away and, at times that gets a bit much. Had a friend home in San Diego from ‘Nam for R&R one 4th and that was UGLY for him and me as I’d get shoved down when they went off……… Gave me a whole new perspective on them….. Your archives are just fine with me! 🙂
Judy, I used to live fairly close to a gun range too. Irritating to say the least, especially when the breeze blew in the wrong direction.
Your archives are filled with wonders so that if you do have to resort to archive trawling it will be NO hardship for us. For you it is a very different story I know.
I hope the heat eases and the the rotten firework laden holiday doesn’t live up to (or down to) your expectations, and you can get out.
Love the hummer and only wish the cleome I plant each year could attract them.
EC, I used to plant the tall cleome variety in my garden but I can no longer find it at any nursery – they only carry (occasionally) the short variety.
I’ll bet that Arwen thought she was in crazy-land that summer–TWO holidays with fireworks and incredible noise within weeks of each other. I’ve found it fascinating that “Pioneer Day”–the 24th– is
always celebrated with much more pomp and enthusiasm than the 4th–what conclusions can we draw from THAT ? I wish you rain, bee plants, and many more hummingbirds; they’re in short supply
this summer in southern Utah.
She WAS in crazy-land, Kris. And that description still fits today.
You can guess what conclusions I draw from “that”.
Beautiful Hummingbird photo Ron and that bee plant is very pretty. I don’t think I have ever seen one. Would assume we don’t have them here, but will have to check. We have had a major fire south of us, and then as of yesterday a huge fire close to Flagstaff. Both have brought us significant amounts of smoke. We had a good thunder storm with lots of rain last night that hopefully will have at least temporarily cleaned out the smoke. I am not sure if it rained in Flagstaff, but hopefully so. Yesterday we had the large four-engine jet tanker planes fly right by our backyard as they turned and headed north to Flagstaff. They went by about every thirty minutes for most of the afternoon.
Everett, we had a fire spring up last night in Emigration Canyon just east of town. I have my fingers crossed on that one.
So that is why our house smelled so smokey. I was blaming our neighbors who have one of those outdoor fire pits, they burn even on 95+ degree days, like it’s not hot enough for them?
Yup, that’s why. We were in that area in the mountains this morning and saw little if any smoke. Last I heard it’s supposed to be 100% contained by 1 PM today.
I lived in SLC one summer. That was a nightmare for me. I detest loud noises.
On a happier note, we were watching these guys in our yard last night. 🙂
It’s a nightmare for me too, Arwen. And for every other relatively sane person (we actually have a few of them in Utah) and their pets.
Last year our shortsighted politicians liberalized our fireworks laws so now they can fire off aerials and there’s almost no limit on how powerful they can be. Stupid, stupid stupid!
*&*#&*#&!!! **##(#*(!! And more of that. This was our first 4th in our Rio Rancho home. One of our neighbors was shooting off those really loud ones right over our house. And I repeat @#$#%^&!!!!!