A hummingbird behavior I’ve been trying to capture for a long time.
In the past I’ve posted quite a few photos of hummingbirds at a clump of orange canna lilies in my garden. There’s a second clump of red and yellow cannas in a different part of my garden but because of complicated reasons related to light angle and unappealing backgrounds, I haven’t photographed hummingbirds there (poor planning on my part – next year I’ll transplant them to a different location).
But two mornings ago, thin clouds and a bright white sky dispersed light everywhere, allowing me to get a better background with light on the hummers that was at least acceptable. These photos are from that morning.
This female was the only hummer that showed up. I expected to get typical hummingbird photos of her hovering over the flowers that she was feeding on but she had something else in mind. She never did feed on the open flower below her.
Instead, she landed right in the middle of it. At first it appeared that she was using it for support as she probed some nearby unopened flower buds for tiny insects (possibly ants).
It may have been at this moment that she realized that the flower she was in had water in it. About 10 minutes earlier I had hand-watered these canna lilies and they were still very wet, as evidenced by the water droplets on the flower near the bottom of the frame.
Then she started bathing in her floral bathtub, throwing water all around.
I’ve cropped this photo unconventionally to show how far up she was throwing the water droplets. She rested her chin on the lip of the flower while she was fluttering in the water.
I’m including this photo to show how “bathtub-like” that flower is. It could hold a lot of water.
Eventually her bathing activity slowed down and she appeared to be interested in exploring other flowers, including with her long tongue. After I took this photo she took off and fed on other nearby flowers.
Less than 30 seconds later she returned to the same flower and attempted to bathe again. But by now it appeared that most of the water in the flower was gone. This is the only flying water drop I captured during her second attempt. So, she was done and so was I.
I’ve seen hummers bathing on wet flowers and even leaves before but they’ve always been far away. Or I haven’t had my camera with me.
I like the photos but it was even more rewarding to experience the behavior up close and personal.
Ron
Thrilling. I am SO impressed. Shows the value of being prepared for anything!
Thank you, Sam.
Fantastic moments!!
Thanks, Joanne.
Well, how about that! Thanks to this wonderful discovery of yours, I’ll be making some changes to my deck container plantings next year. For now, I’m cooking up something that I could set out today to provide my Ruby Throated hummers with a little pseudo-floral bathtub. Fun.
Thanks again, Ron. The joys of your days with the birds certainly brightens my day every time you post.
Good luck with your experiment, Nina. Thanks.
What an incredible sequence, absolutely gorgeous bird, flowers, bath and droplets — how fortunate the weather and lighting gods cooperated for you to capture all this! She’s a lovely lavender girl and the color contrast with the flowers couldn’t be better. I agree with Kris, she’s like a bird in her boudoir, and I’m thinking what a perfect little triptych for someone’s boudoir Images 1, 3 and 5 would be! ❤️
Ack! I swear I did not see Judy’s comment before I posted mine! But I guess GMTA, yes?😬
Chris, I’ll admit my ignorance. I had to look up “triptych”. Thanks for contributing to my continuing education.
Absolutely VERY INTERESTING _ AND BEAUTIFUL. These – or some of these would make a nice grouping for a wall in your home.
Thanks for sharing this most interesting episode.
Thanks, Judy. I have too many birds on my walls already. But maybe it’s time to swap some out…
Totally, magical! Thank you.
Take Care,
Kaye
Thank you, Kaye.
This is adorable! And a lucky moment for us:)
Thanks, Judith.
At the risk of sounding precious, I’m gonna say that these photos ARE precious. I especially love the one of her flopped over/in the flower. What fun! Thanks, Ron.
“Precious” works for me, Ellen Thanks.
A blissful birdy bathing beauty for this morning’s viewing pleasure! 💜 In the vertical crop shot, she’s enjoying herself so much that her little tongue is out. Your lilies are gorgeous as well and provide the perfect backdrop — and bathtub — for this delightful creature.
I have a 200 mile round trip ahead of me today (hate it when my favorite doctors move out to the hinterlands). Thanks to your post this morning, I’ll have a huge grin on my face regardless of the traffic! 😃
Thanks, Marty. I wish I’d planted canna lilies years ago. I’m already planning more of them for next year. The hummers really love them and they make a great setting for photos.
Good luck with the traffic. I don’t envy you.
That hummingbird had to do a hell of a lot of heavy lifting with the traffic this morning. 😱😂 Hopefully, the trip back won’t be quite as obnoxious.
Still in a decent mood though. That’s how good today’s post is, Ron!💕
Neat! Being pretty much “stuck” photographing in your yard has proved to be quite interesting! Breakfast and a bath all in one place……. 🙂
BIG temperature change and some much needed rain(.5″ so far) tho wish crop was in the bin – sighhhhhhhhh how it goes!
Judy, we had a big storm come through the valley last night. Most of it missed me, but just barely. I only got 1/4″ but just south and east of me got over 2″ in less than an hour. Lots of closed roads and flooding. Sure enjoying the much cooler weather.
Wow! Great pictures and story. I sit on my patio watching birds in the evening. I also used the Merlin ap on my phone. The Rufuos breed has been very active. They are checking the feathery blossom on a corn stalk, tomato blossoms and the pole bean blossoms as well. I guess any port in a storm.
Betty, I wish I had more Rufous coming to my yard. I see females only and very few of them.
A lovely colorful bathing series! Delightful. I was surprised earlier this week when I spotted a hummer hovering in the spray from a lawn sprinkler. It would hover stationary and rotate a quarter turn, pause a second, then continue another quarter turn, pause again and continue this pattern for a good minute or so until it had rotated 360 degrees multiple times. Then it flew off dry for a moment landing on a branch to dry off. It again flew into the spray for another shower. I wished I’d had a camera with a long lens to capture something I had never witnessed before.
Thanks, Brett. I’ve seen something similar when I’m hand watering parts of my garden. Pretty fun to watch.
I have never seen a hummingbird bathing with water drops flying in the air. What a delight up
Close through your eyes and camera and also to see a hummingbird tongue reaching out. To see all
This is thrilling —thank you for this morning special!
Much appreciated, Eloise.
Delightful. And, as usual, thank you!
Thanks, Kate.
Just stunningly beautiful! Thanks for enriching my morning.
Thank you, Sue.
Thanks so much for sharing such a wonderful opportunity with us. I truly appreciate your blogs – they brighten my days and gladden my heart.
Your comment means a lot to me, Burrdoo. Thank you.
Ron, this series is absolutely amazing. You have outdone yourself, my friend!
Glad you like them, Karen. Thanks.
Beautiful. Magical. Thanks Ron.
Thank you, Michael.
Delightful pictures! Certainly I would never had seen anything like that.
Thanks, Laurie.
Lovely captures! The colors are beautiful! I have a 3′ tall fountain outside my kitchen window. It is squarish and has four cuts on the top corners that create downspouts for the water flow. The cuts are the PERFECT size for a hummingbird to bathe. I get endless joy doing dishes and catching my Anna’s bathing.
Thanks, Kathleen. Sounds like you see them bathing much more often than I do. Lucky you.
How delightful ! Both her bathing, and her pale lavender coloration,
it may have been a trick of the unusual light you described, but
it didn’t alter the brilliant red and yellow of the cannas……seeing her
that way, she seemed less like an “ornament”, and more like a real
little bird in her boudoir…..thanks for this intimate peek !
You’re right, Kris – her coloration is sort of laverender-ish. I hadn’t noticed.
Oh my, Ron! What a way to start the day! Thank you for capturing such beauty!
Much appreciated, Carolyn.
What a treat, Ron! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks, Diane.
Your photos brought to mind illustrations I’ve seen of similar behavior in children’s books, or Victorian fantasy illustrations. I always thought those illustrations were born of imagination; what a surprise to find that there’s a basis in reality!
Nature is full of surprises, Shoreacres.
Absolutely lovely images. Well done!
Thanks very much, Dan.