I figured I’d posted my last hummingbird photo for a good long time but yesterday morning I had unexpected inspiration from a late migrator.
I hadn’t seen a hummingbird at my feeder, or anywhere in my yard, for almost a week so two days ago while I was doing yard work I decided to take my feeder down. Morning temps had been in the low 40’s and I wanted to get it emptied and stored away before it froze and cracked, something that’s happened before. But I got so involved in my yard work I forgot to do it.
And I’m glad I forgot because yesterday morning, soon after dawn in very cold temperatures, I spotted a female Black-chinned Hummingbird almost glued to my feeder. She was there for a very long time, almost like that feeder was her security blanket. It warmed my heart to see her – to the point that last night, just for the fun of it, I reviewed all of my Rufous Hummingbird photos taken just over three weeks ago on Antelope Island.
This is one of them, inspired by my unexpected visitor yesterday morning.
1/4000, f/5.6, ISO 1250, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
I was surprised to find one of those photos that I liked this much that I hadn’t already posted. I think this one has a lot of positives, including the flight posture of the bird, the feeding behavior and the crisp sharpness of both bird and flower. It’s quite unusual for me to get an entire bee plant flower cluster in the frame, much less this sharp, and the hummer is also sharp from stem to stern. I was quite pleased the photo turned out this well in the very smoky conditions that required me to shoot at an unusually high ISO setting to get the shutter speed I needed for a hummer in flight..
The background of dried grasses is another matter. I’m not terribly fond of the color but the cleanness of the background certainly sets off the bird and flower nicely.
This summer I’ve been spending an unusual amount of time on my patio enjoying my yard and garden and the hummingbirds at my nearby feeder have been a big part of that joy so I’ve been missing them. A lot. I’ve now decided to leave my feeder out for as long as possible this fall for the late migrating hummingbirds.
If it freezes and cracks on an unexpectedly cold night when I’ve forgotten to empty it I’ll just buy a new one next spring. Big deal.
Ron
It is a lovely photo.
I keep my feeders out til mid November. I bring them in at night, if the food is still only a day or two old and clean I empty them into a glass measuring cup, rinse the feeders. I warm the fluid up or make fresh in the morning refill the feeders only about 1/3 full and put out just before sunrise. I have had late migrants and they seem to really drink up. I also still have 4 juveniles to release so I still have my 6 full feeders up at the moment. I have 2 wild raised adults still here in the yard this morning and my 4 juvies will go Monday. Many people have a belief that if the feeders stay out the hummingbirds will not migrate. This is not true. The change in day light and amount of day light cause the birds to migrate. In some parts of Utah like St George and in neighboring parts of Nevada, hummingbirds stay all year round. There is enough food in nature but I always worry about them when it gets cold and snows for multiple days.
I’m surprised to find only 3 other comments on this lovely picture (and story!) but perhaps, like me, “stuff happened” yesterday and your other regulars just couldn’t manage it. Really, this is a beautiful shot of bird and plant, and although I know the background color is “smoke enhanced,” I actually like it. So glad you were able to provide respite for the little hummer in your yard, and that her appearance prompted this unexpected late-summer surprise from your recent archive!
Oops! Thirty comments! I had failed to refresh my page before adding my comment. Just ignore me … 🙄
Love any photo you post about Hummingbirds. They are my favorite. Thank you Ron.
An incredibly lovely image, Ron. We have several Birds of Paradise plants in our yard and they’re blooming away, but I haven’t seen any hummingbirds around them (usually, the hummers are all over those flowers). I wonder if some of your stragglers will be visiting soon.
Interesting, Marty. I had no idea that hummers visited Birds of Paradise. I probably should have known.
Our birds are especially “drippy,” so they’re usually some sort of critters around them.
Perfect…couldn’t be better!!!
Thank you, Patty.
Gorgeous photo! Amazing how you can capture so much detail on a bird that is in almost constant motion! Kudos!! The hummingbird population at our N. AZ mountain house has dwindled from several dozen to three. Love Love Love them! Good point about the feeder freezing – hadn’t thought about that! Will have to take mine down next month for sure. Thx Ron 🙂
Kathleen, I’ve had to buy a new feeder several times because my old one froze. There are worse things… 🙂
I am so glad that your later visitor still found the feeder – and that she prompted you to review your photos of her relatives.
Thank you (to you both).
Thanks, EC.
Ron,
I am becoming a big Hummingbird fan myself, primarily from your posts. Since the pandemic I’ve been working from home and last winter, from my office window, I would see hummingbirds daily looking at our wind chimes hoping for a little sweetness only to be perpetually disappointed. So this spring I did some research about feeders and now have two very well visited feeders right outside my office window. If I care to, I can see birds there roughly every 5 minutes all day long. We mostly have Anna’s here and now I can enjoy them all year long (along with my two cats who are overly curious about all the buzzing around).
David, the first part of your comment made my day. Knowing that I somehow contributed to someone else’s joy and their appreciation of birds makes me happy. That was one of the goals I had in mind when I started blogging so many years ago.
Exquisite photograph!!
Thank you, Joanne.
Sounds like you have had some nice down times there in the backyard taking photos a little more restful than your more trying away from home photo journeys. That is beautiful Rufous photo. Neat that you still have them. I have not personally seen one here yet, but they are in the area as they move south As I mentioned before, many of our Anna’s stay here all winter. We have a feeder out and my wife has an insulted cover on it. We bring it in at dark and then I put it back out at 6 am in the morning and they often buzz right out of the shrubs as I start hanging it.
Everett, sounds like you have a regular routine to keep your well fed and happy. Good for you.
I am happy when people leave feeders out till the very last cool days. It seems like there is always a last minute visitor that passes thru. Delayed for some reason or other in their travels. Love the your pictures as always. Fall is here and already had a snow fall in the the Bighorn mountains. Yuck
Trudy, come spring you might be glad you got that snow. But I know what you mean.
This is my kind of unexpected visitor. I’m happy that I get to keep my feeder up year round.
Glad you decided to revisit your hummer pics😁
I was absolutely delighted to see her, Diana.
I think this one’s your most beautiful of that whole series. I’d be interested to know if anyone in your posse is hearing anything about formal tracking studies
related to timing changes in hummingbird seasonal migrations ? I’d read that
there’s pretty firm information suggesting that alterations are occurring in the north-south spatial movement of many species of migrating birds, due to climate change. Just a few years back, locals were already observing increasing numbers of hummers wintering over, rather than migrating as was usual, in Prescott, AZ , a high altitude location with hard freezes most nights in the winter……..
Kris, I don’t know anything about formal tracking studies but I do know that in recent years a few hummers have been overwintering around here rather than heading south. I don’t believe that used to happen.
I’ve really enjoyed your photos of both the bird and the plant. I can’t imagine an image that celebrates summer more than these. I don’t remember the last time I saw a hummingbird outside of my yard and feeders. Capturing both species, native and in the wild, in the same photo, is remarkable.
“Capturing both species, native and in the wild, in the same photo, is remarkable”
Lyle, you like some of the same things about this kind of shot that I do. A wild bird performing natural behaviors in a natural setting is always my preference, maybe especially with hummingbirds because they’re so often photographed at feeders.
Excellent! “Sometimes” things like that DO work out. 🙂 Glad you could provide a reprieve for the hummer. Smoke/grass actually worked in your favor for this (these) shots in my opinion.
“Luck” ran out on water last evening…… 🙁 VERY glad for a well stocked Outhouse we still have even if hauling water later today/tomorrow 😉
Oh Judy. I well remember running out of water. Which is VERY expensive to buy here.
Not bad where we get it 25cents for 100 gal…….
Ours was MUCH more expensive than that. Not overpriced precisely considering how important and valuable water is, but a hurtful expense.
Judy, I know from experience that hauling water is a pain in the butt. I hope you don’t have to do it for long.