This evening when I saw this happening out the window... I grabbed the camera and went out on the deck To Get a Better Look!  Of course, once I was out there, the hummers started putting on a Show .  

Then here came my husband, Chuck, with the Infamous Red Flowered Hummingbird Attracting Baseball Cap .  Hey, hummer, get out of Chuck's beard!  That ain't a nest!  Why Shut My Mouth, You Say !  One thing always leads to another, then the Finger Sitting begins....

One last shot, with some Shameless Advertising...  Hey HD, if you see this.... send me some chrome for my birdies to sit on!

This is the third night in a row we have had this strange Striped Sky after sunset.  Does anybody know what causes this to happen?  We went from Stormy looking in the Dusk shot to a cloudless sunset in about 45 minutes.  Strange.

Hope you enjoyed your peek at the Hill tonight.  We had a good time, and hope you did too!

The Hummers are keeping me so busy, I can't go anywhere for keeping The Feeders Full .

And two quick shots that I hope will make you laugh...

It used to be a soccer ball .....
Sleeping Symmetry

Hope you enjoy!  Thanks for lookin!

Hope you enjoy. Thanks for looking.

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Have a great afternoon!!! :o)

I had saturday off so I took the morning sitting on my deck waiting for the little hummers to come and eat.  The morning sun shines on the feeder so I was hoping I would get some better shots.  Here are a couple of them.

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3 he was waiting to chase off anyone who wanted to feed.
I have my eye on you!

Thanks for looking, hope you enjoy.  Have a great afternoon!!!  :o)

Only a couple of days since the hummers met "the hand."  This years crop turned out to be quick to use "the human perch!"  Take a look and see....

Landing

Comfortable Seating

Double Drinkers

Swarming In

We are in the middle of having HUNDREDS of birds, and five feeders to keep full...  I couldn't decide between these two... what do you think?

Numero Uno
Numero Dos
 
Thanks for looking at my Hummers!

The thing that probably gives me the greatest joy in my life, other than my family, is to be fortunate enough to live in a rural area where I can watch an abundance of wildlife.  

These are a few of the beauties that came to my yard just this past week...

Mama Doe and Fawn I got to see the fawn nurse, but was too excited to grab the camera until after baby was through...

Guinea from the Neighbors Place These birds roam, and can clean a yard of undesirable insects in no time flat...

Maybe Not a Beauty but he aereates my lawn by removing little clumps of grass when he dig for grub worms.

I Look at Her, She Looks at Me ....It is my job to keep her feeders filled!  

Golden Lake at Sunset The hummers drink from dawn until dusk getting ready for their migration....

The Thumb (taken last winter) Our great room is all E-Glass which has a reflective coating on it.  It is mirrorlike from outside, and sometimes the birds fly into it thinking it is sky.  My hubby (who was wearing my pink peepers) ran out to rescue this yellow finch who had stunned itself flying into the glass.  Luckily he regained his composure in a little while, and flew away!

Living here and being a part of this gives me a sense of wonderment, and appreciation for life.  Hope you enjoyed this look at the critters in my yard!  

We have decided to call our place "Hummingbird Hill."  
I think it fits....

Last Drink

Last Sun

Goodnight everybody from Hummingbird Hill.....

The Hummingbird Migration has begun at our place!  I had looked at the dates on last years photos, when we had hundreds come through, and the photos started on 9/05/05.  So with eager anticipation, we hung more feeders today (five total) and by evening we started to be rewarded with around 20 or so coming in to feed at once.  When you get that many coming in, they are fearless.... so they get to meet the Hand, and in a few days, hopefully will be lighting on the finger to drink!  

Sunset Drink
Crowding In
Meet the Hand
Dive Bombers
Goodnight All

I am going to enter this in the Endurance Category... my dear husband Chuck has such endurance to patiently entice these beautiful little guys into learning to sit on his finger to drink.
We will soon see if this years birds are as quick learners as last years were!  Last Years Drinkers   Enjoy!

Within The Last Week The Hummingbird Activity Has Really Droped Off....A Sure Sign That Autumn Is Approaching.

Black & White - Rubby-Throat Feeding

Just another little bird.

 

I Am Ruby-Throat And I Will Buzzzzzzzzz You Cameraman.....Fear Me

OK.. I said I'd take a shot of one of my setups for hummingbird shots.

Here you go.

The Vivitar flash is new and  this is the only shot I have taken with it that I've posted.

I bounce between the lens shown and my Sigma 70-300mm. Here are more shots taken from the same place.

A Young Rufous
The Hummer From Hell
A Young Male Anna's In Flight
A Young Rufous I think. May be a Calliope. Very hard to tell the young ones apart.
Young Male Anna's Closeup
Adult Female Anna's In Flight
Adult Male Anna's

Set up a place to shoot that is comfortable for you. If you have too many birds fighting put up another feeder. Kick back and talk to them while they feed so they get used to you. Keep your body movements slow and easy. Plan on one good shot out of many. And last... enjoy them!! They are one of the smallest but greatest creatures on earth.

I've been here. Just in one of my quiet and working too hard modes.

I got my new/used Vivitar 283 off EBay the other day and got a chance to play with it today as far as freezing wing motion on hummers. Still a little too much daylight when I took this one this evening but I think there is a chance this is going to work. When I get a chance early morning or on a cloudy day I'll give it another shot and see what happens.

BTW.. this is a young male Anna's. You can see the red spots starting to develop on the upper part of his head.

 An Apache Legend Tells Of Wind Dancer, A Young Warrior, Who Was Born Deaf, But Could Sing Magical, Wordless Songs That Brought Healing And Good Weather. He Married Bright Rain, A Beautiful, Young Woman Whom He Rescued When She Was Being Attacked By A Wolf.

 Wind Dancer Was Killed During Another Errand Of Mercey. A Bitter, Death-Bring Winter Ensued, But It Suddenly And Mysteriously Ended After Bright Rain Started Taking Solitary Walks.

 Tribal Elders Learned Wind Dancer Had Come Back To Her In The Form Of A Hummingbird. He Wore The Same Ceremonial Costume And War Paint He Had Worn As A Man. In Fields Of Spring Flowers He Would Approach Her And Whisper His Magical Secrets In Her Ear. This Brought Her Peace And Joy.
Wind Dancer

Pain and suffering is a pain and I'm just not into it. I'd rather shoot things showing good things that bring a smile. Speaking of which... Rusty is still hanging around. Sun was going down so the dof isn't what I would have liked. Maybe tomorrow.

Queen Ann Lace

A Beautiful Ruby-Throated Hummingbird Resting On A Hosta Flower

OK.. I'm working on my lighting. I think this is something many run into with feeders hanging under the eve of the house. Even if you want to shoot out through the window like these are you have the problem of lots of top light and light on the wrong side of the bird... from Tuesday.

Being the poor and starving photographer that I am, I find things that will work without spending a bunch of money. Need some reflectors? Go buy a couple of the folding sun shades for your car when they are on sale. Now tape one to the wall below your feeder and use a stick or two to tip it up at an angle so you can see the bottom of the feeder brighten up. It will make a world of difference on the bottom side of  the bird.I had to do a lot less work in PhotoShop to get what I wanted in this one. Will work on it more tomorrow. I actually had to do work today.

I'm really going to hate to see this guy head for Mexico next month!!

Variegated Fritillary Butterfly

My Calendar Says It's Still Summer Is It?

Ruby Lady

Some day they will leave and I won't get to shoot them at this rate. This is the same male Rufous I posted with him sitting at the feeder. I changed feeders because the wasps wouldn't leave the one with yellow on it alone and the birds hate them. Homemade single port there now so you get him  in flight.

I'll try to work on the lighting and get his underside a little better. Tough shooting through that window with the light behind and above him. May have to work out a reflector.

As A Wildlife Rehabber I See The Pain And Suffering Everyday In The Animal Kingdom. I Do My Very Best To Ease That Pain And Suffering For The Injured Wildlife. And Try To Keep The Animal As Comfortable As I Can While They Heal And Are Rehabilitated, So They Can Be Returned To Their Natural Habitat. This Beautiful Male Red Fox Was Brought To The Wildlife Center On Sunday After Being Hit By A Car. Injured Red Fox

Today's Hummer Shot  Ruby-Throated Female