Hmmmmmm.......

It's that time of year again! I put out my hummingbird feeders on Saturday, and the first migrating hummer showed up the next day. The day after that and ever since, it's been rainy, misty, chilly and just plain yucky out. The tiny birds arrived by the hordes and have stayed ever since, apparently not wanting to travel in this weather. I don't think I've ever had so many at one time before! It's been really hard to not stand by the windows with the camera all day. I just culled through 175 photos. Ha! Not an easy job. It's been hard to get good pics, not only because of the bad lighting due to the dark weather, but of course because the hummers are almost constantly on the move, and they move FAST. I did get some halfway good shots, so here are a few of them for you. Enjoy!

They're such territorial, fighting little things. They waste so much time fending each other off, when they could be enjoying their meal. I did manage to get a shot of four of them together at the feeder at one time, though. It's a rare sight.

Mid-air shots are hard, too, because you never know where to focus. This silhouette shot was just plain lucky.

I tried so hard to capture the ruby throats of the males, but again the lighting and movement were against me. Here are the best ones I got.

This next one is just weird. Not the bird... just the shot. Ha!

Finally, a little collage I put together with an iPad app.

I'm sure I'll be taking more hummer pics... always trying for that 'perfect' (lucky) shot!

Meanwhile, sewing is taking place! At least this chilly (60°!) weather is good for something!

More hummers

I've tried a few more times to get some really great hummingbird shots. I stood out on the deck a couple of feet from the feeder, hoping they'd be brave and come while I was out there. Well, one did. I could hear him buzzing humming around checking me out. I focused the best I could and waited. He came, but the instant I pressed the shutter button, he took off, and I ended up with this:

They are so FAST! I swear he heard that click and took off faster than the shutter closed! I tried several times, because he kept coming back, but I just ended up with more goofy shots, like this:

I gave up and went inside and tried a few shots through the window with the telephoto lens. Not too bad....

.... but just not as crisp and clear as being out there with them. (Of course a cleaner window would've helped.)

A couple days later, there was a young male who kept perching on the twine that was holding the feeder. Very unusual! I've never seen one do that before!

He kept leaving and returning. Maybe that was his way of claiming the feeder for his own.

More flyers

It's that time of year again......

Not the best shots, really. Boy, is it hard to focus when there's nothing there and then suddenly there is but it's not staying long enough focus on!

Hummingbirds

It's that time of year again, when the hummingbirds come through on their way south for the winter. I never get tired of watching them and their often acrobatic flying.

The "headless" hummer below looks a little weird, but if you look closely, you can see another one almost directly above her. They are very territorial, and they were fighting over the feeder.

Such delicate little birds! I never get tired of trying to get "the best ever" shots of them, but I have yet to get any more shots as good as the ones I took here!

Synchronized hummer watching

Starring Snuggles, Princess, and various hummingbirds:

Full house

Well, not the 'house', really.... but the feeder. The hummingbirds have been really thick lately. I think this is the first time I've ever seen all 4 "slots" full on the feeder at the same time, with more hummers waiting in line!

Not a very good photo, really, as it was shot from across a room and a half in my house. Didn't want to scare them away. However, they've been so busy feeding the last couple days that they didn't worry about people around... or cats. Last evening Courtney and I were out on the deck steps, and the hummers were busy flying around and at the feeder... with 2 cats sitting directly below the feeder, staring up longingly. :-)

Hope I'm not boring you with the hummingbird stuff. It's just that this was a quick post to do. I have lots more stuff to show you, but today is a very busy one, so I'm outta time. Josie's at the vet getting spayed (poor baby), and I have a couple other things going on today. So catcha later....... !

Fly zone

A couple evenings ago, the hummers were so hungry that they didn't even seem to mind that I was standing right out there with them. They were zooming around my head and all over the place. They actually weren't doing much eating, though, because they were too busy fighting over whose feeder it was. You can even hear their wings clashing a few times as they flew into each other. Here's a little of the action:

(I wish the microphone didn't pick up the sound of my breathing so clearly. Sorry about that, but hey, I had to breathe!)

Hmmm..hmmm..hmmm.....

The hummers are back, both ruby-throated males:

And females:

Ack... it's back... but good news

We're back in the "sauna". The last few days have been very hot and humid again, after a brief respite last week. This is what the outsides of our windows have looked like in the mornings.

The early fog was burning off below, but you can still see the humidity in the air.

Hopefully by Tuesday we'll be back to a little more normal Minnesota weather!

The good news is that the hummingbirds are beginning to make their way through again as they head south. Below is one of the first that I've seen this month. It seemed to think that my hibiscus was more appealing than the feeder.

I'm hoping to see many more of these fascinating little birds in the next month or so!

They're back!

I took this about a half hour ago. I hadn't seen many hummers yet this year, and when I did, it was usually only one or two a day, and then they'd be gone. The last couple days there'd been a few more, and this morning there were lots. I watched for a break in the feeding, and then I quickly washed and refilled the feeder, which was getting emptied down. Within a couple minutes, it was like this out there.

Now if only they'd learn to share instead of wasting time fighting about whose feeder is it, they'd end up getting a lot more to eat! It's kinda funny... if they happen to land on opposite sides of the feeder so they can't see each other, they get along fine. :-)

They seem to be late coming through this year. I hope that means that winter, and particularly frost, is going to be later, too!

Back in full force!

I hope I don't bore you with photos/videos of these little birds, but I just love 'em and could sit and watch 'em all day! They fascinate me!

A few days ago I was in the garden, and suddenly one zoomed past me. If you've never heard one, it sounds like a giant bumble bee, and it can be quite startling till you realize what it is. Anyway, it landed on a branch of a sunflower plant about 5 feet away and just sat there and watched me. Very cool!

(Click to enlarge.)

They're back!

I was getting concerned that I hadn't seen any hummingbirds coming through yet on their way south. Then I saw one at our evergreens last week... then one the next day at my million bells. But none came to my feeder, which I've had out for over 2 weeks. Finally Saturday they appeared... and again yesterday morning. Not a lot yet, but hopefully the numbers will increase during the next couple of weeks.

These little guys looked kinda ruffled, like the trip's been rough already. They'd better drink up... they have a LONG way to go!

Little bird wing action

In silhouette, no less. :-)

I've been waiting and waiting and...

I was just about ready to give up, thinking the hummingbirds had flown right past here without stopping, since there are no leaves on the trees. But lo and behold, FINALLY, I had my first little hummer today!

I put my feeder out about 3 weeks ago, to make sure I had it out in time for the earliest arrivals. Last year I saw the first one on May 5th. I've been watching the hummingbird migration map, and it seemed like they'd kind of bypassed us this year, so I was about ready to give up and take in my feeder until later this summer when they migrate south. I don't think any of them nest around here, as I've never seen them throughout the whole summer. There are usually a lot of them toward the end of the summer. The males come through first, followed by females and youngsters.

Anyway, I was very pleased to see this little female ruby-throat this afternoon! Poor thing looks kinda chilly... and with good reason, since it was only 46°!

Hummingbirds

I love hummingbirds! They are so fascinating, and I could sit and watch them all day. I started feeding them on our deck three summers ago, and I've had fun taking photos. They get used to a person fairly quickly, and when they're really hungry, I'm able to take pics from only a few feet away. Below are a few of my favorites, all ruby-throated, the only kind we have around here.

This female hummer was on a sedum bush in my flower garden.