My Hummers (images)

16 years ago

I put up my hummer feeder last week again and started with 1 hummer. This morning I had 4 individuals at once. I'm new to hummers but am enjoying them greatly. This evening I thought I heard a distant motorcycle and then looked to my left. It was a female hummer humming loudly with her little wings.

Anyway, here are some images from this morning. Could someone tell me if the first image below is a male juvenile. I have no idea since I am new to hummers.

Here is the colorful little male of the group.

The next two are the same female. I have one female that likes to sit on the hook and watch over the feeder. Anyone trying to get some nectar will be chased by her. Sometimes she goes into the woods--about 25 feet away--and waits in ambush for anyone that goes to the feeder. I thought the male would be more agressive.

In the image below, I got a kick out of her little feet reaching for the bar.

Here she is in full flutter.

When I first looked at the image below, I was disappointed that I missed part of the bird. However, then I noticed the yellow jacket (hornet) heading for the other flower. Like an airport with dual runways.

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Comments (3)

rjinga
16 years ago
Great Pics...what kind of camera are you using? I need to get a good camera...my feeder is outside my window (dual panes) and about 6 feet away...my pics are not very clear....I need a good zoom obviously...I think that the glass is messing them up too.

They are so fascinating to me to watch.
ctnchpr
16 years ago
chescobob,
Those are great photos!! I believe the first one is a young male, his speckled throat is a good sign. Soon, you should see one little red feather, then another, and another... Your adult male in the second pic is molting. All my adults are molting now, and they look TERRIBLE!
chescobob
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks.

rjinga:

I use a Kodak P850. I paid about $250, 2 years ago. Someone on the bird forum uses it with a lens attachment and those images show more detail. (I'm not much of a photographer either.) The images were taken at 12X optical and digital zoom, from about 8 to 10 feet. I held the camera by hand. I hide behind the deck steps railing and snap away. The hummers land at least every 15 mintues so I can just sit and wait. I looked out this morning and a female was standing guard on the hook, as usual.

ctnchpr:

That dark spot on the juvenile's neck turns red when he turns towards me. I have another image that shows it clearly. I think there are two females here and the adult male and this juvenile male.

I wonder if it is a family that nested in the area.