to live a life of 5am=8pm every day eating and trying not to get speared in the butt by a fellow hummingbird……not sure that is very glamorous…
All five of them were diving to shish ka bob this poor dude…….
I am not bird photographer… but I will learn eventually…
Its funny how hummingbirds won't share. I watched at my grandparent's place, as they would would chase each other around and a third would jump in and feed before one of them saw it. It was actually quite a show. Pretty awesome shot too. He (assumption) looks like he watching out before he feeds.
+Kevin Gault they are insane…… and fearless…..
I'm not a bird photographer either, but I get so many hummingbirds in my backyard I manage to pull off a few good shots. : )
True and that's what makes them great little birds. 🙂
Love it +Brent Burzycki . I agree with the others and your statements…they are deadly violent with each other…but… if you put a bowl of crack in the middle of a football stadium and then throw 20 crackheads in there….well, that's what ya get.. 😉
My mother has spent a long time studying her hummingbirds and she can go on and on about their little society. They'll normally only feed one or two at a time but once I saw four on there. I think I could get her to buy me a telephoto lens just so I could take pictures of them.
Actually +Anna Van Sant go put a chair out by the feeder about 6 feet away. Use your flash, and just sit with your camera pointed at the feeder. Use a monopod to help hold the cam. If you sit still….they will come, even with you that close. And the flash will not scare them away after the first few shots. Just be wary that they will buzz you…it is quite startling at first. But they won't run into you, etc. After you get used to it, it is awesome. The sugar water is like crack to them and they will endure quite a bit to get it. You will have to sit for about 20mins…but they will come. It is very cool.
+A.D. Wheeler well thats the best description I have heard yet……
It is true – I can literally almost hold the feeder… thou I think my personal space has been invaded many times……they will get very accustomed with you if you are pretty still and in many cases they do not even care.. my BBQ is close to the feeder – they never care… also my neighbor has a feeder so they like to zip between the two fighting eachother all the way…..
One person on here that takes great hummingbird photos had a great article on tips and tricks and I cannot find it….. many tricks to get the shot without a feeder in the frame…
Thanks for the tips! And yeah, that stuff is like crack and apparently my mom is the best crack dealer in town (they prefer hers to the neighbor's).
My parent's neighbor has 4-5 feeders in her back yard. She'll get dozens at a time dive bombing each other. But the crazy thing, when a feeder is empty they learned to tap on her window to let her know.
I can believe that…they are visibly not happy when my feeder runs out…….
Give them time, they will train you. I have a bunch of penstemons in my yard, they get sooo mad when the wind blows and they keep missing the flower.
When I still lived in the Texas hill country, my place was nicely populated with hummingbirds. Wonderful, little speed demons. Very colorful and quite territorial. It was always an enjoyable hoot to sit on the porch and watch them spar. Thanks for sharing and bringing back an old memory that's missing from my city life here in China.
Smiling….this post!