hummingbirds!!!
 

We are returning Thursday.

This past week my son was here and we had a very lucky hummer day with photos. We both wore our hummer compatible shirts...he with an all red one and me with my yellow with red flowers one (he calls it my old lady shirt --:rolleyes: ) So we were on the dock in mid afternoon and two migrants came by to see my flowers. It was a bonanza because they were not afraid of us. I have a 12 X zoom Sony auto and he had a Pentax SLR with a huge zoom. My auto however worked best. Here are 3 shots...which are the best I have ever taken. I used another setting (the action one) to get these.
It only works in bright light however. We were so excited. It was fantastic. Hummers are so difficult to photograph.
We had about a 20 minute window.

When I get back I'll explore the photo album more carefully, but I don't have much online time here while charging.

We are having wonderful weather now, the best of the whole season.

Wow ((Mrs. D)) those are absolutely fantastic! Another good picture taker is Scrabble.

More fantastic is you're coming home! Have a great rest of your vacation and looking forward to having you back. :hug:

Great pics MrsD...and I miss you! :hug:

Great pix! And you are SO right about how hard they are to photograph. I've taken 100's of pix of hummies and none are any good LOL!


The hummies in my yard are so used to me I have to call out when I go between the feeder and *their* tree, so they don't fly into me.

Yesterday, I caught one peeking in my screen door. It was like he was thinking "You peek out at me, now where are ya?"

wow mrsD those pics are amazing :p

so glad your weather is good :)

we miss you :hug:

They're wonderful photos, mrsD! It's like a celebration of the life of the poor little one that died in my yard yesterday. :)

Thanks for sharing them.

going to ask here and at plant forum when is a good time to plant the toonies, does anyone know, we set things up this year with hummingbirds in mind with all of debs hanging baskets, and if anyone knows whens a good time to plant a butterfly bush. thank you did not mean to sidetrack the thread just curious, use to see hummingbirds on my mail route, they are so awesome to watch

I planted mine early spring (the butterfly bush). Already have one in my yard that's old and got new ones from a friend. They didn't bloom this year, but maybe next year after they are established they will. So far, they've done ok.

re: toonies...
 

Petunias are easy in many ways. But...they do not provide nectar to hummingbirds that I know.

They DO attract them however. The little guy I managed to photograph (a miracle really) has stayed with us and not moved on until we left this morning. I put up a secondary cheap feeder just for him (it is a cheap bottom, with a pop bottle top), since bear tend to destroy feeders left up there. One needs to clean them out every week as well, since mold grows in them, and kills the birds (infects their tongues).

I think this hummer on this thread is a male, with the markings on his throat. A new fledgling, who may return next season.
He seems to be staking us out. There are two others as well, but he seems to be dominant.

Where we are up there is very remote...and ANY color at all brings them in. But they cannot feed off toonies. They do get nectar from JewelWeed, which just started to bloom as we left today.

Where we are up there is very harsh weather-wise. Toonies do well in cool, rainey or windy weather. They don't grow mold either. I will be looking for new things for next season, as I always do.

I have some more pics, but they are on the other computer which is still in transit with my husband. I'll put them up on this thread in a few days or so.

I am very pleased with my SONY... I bought it based on recommendations from Consumer Reports, which said it was a best buy at the time (3 yrs ago) for nature subjects, candid portraits, and sports events. My son who had the more complex expensive camera did not get the shots I did. He was a bit envious, but a good sport about it. The trick I used, was anticipating the movement of the bird...since I know them well. He used the multi-shoot function which I don't have. If the light is good, the action button on the automatic catches the wings really well. Poor lighting gives huge "noise" and ruins the shot.

I have some of his shots, and will review them too, and put them up. I really enjoy hummers. On our island we have the smallest bird (hummingbird) and the smallest mammal (pigmy shrew). Very exciting to me, miraculous living things!

I have a special trick I just learned this season for fabulous petunias. I will be putting that up on
the Gardening portion of Social chat. It is a special bloom stimulating fertilizer. I'll put the
pictures to prove it. Toonies are heavy feeders. And they appreciate not going dry between waterings.
To get the best color you need to fertilize every WEEK, with dilute high phosphate type
soluble fertilizer.

here is an earlier shot
 

I took this picture before learning more about ISO when my
son came up. So this one was taken with the regular auto
settings. I used the action settings on the other hummer photos and that stopped the wings and made less blurr.

But this one is pretty cute I think: