Juvie male(s) and friends (foes)?!

18 years ago

I was actually able to capture pictures outside (rather than through the window) and to see my first males! These were some bold hummers who didn't bolt at me or the camera or the flash and even gave me plenty of time to take some pics (as I fumbled...lol). I can't tell if the top 2 are of the same one. The little red spot on the throat and the pattern of dots near the spot don't seem to match up exactly... but then that could just be due to grooming and stretching.

Then I have this one (again, not sure if this is of the same one as the above):

This bottom one may have been the one that I was thinking was a Rufous but perhaps it is a juvie male too... It's certainly colorful!

The battles have been ongoing out there this evening and these birds have been perching to guard the feeder from each other!

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Comments (8)

kendra2003
18 years ago
What kind of camera did you use? I found that whenever I tried to take a photo outside, the click of the shutter scared them away. I have only been able to get pictures using a telephoto lens through a window. Did you use a digital camera? By the way, great pictures.
jenny_in_se_pa
Original Author
18 years ago
I'm using a Kodak z740 digital (10x optical zoom, 5 megapixels). I have tried all summer to take pics outside and as soon as I got up from the sofa and headed to the balcony doors... ZIP! Away my little regular lady would go (she could see the movement through the window). Thus most of my pics of her were through the window.

These are totally different hummers, having only showed up in the past couple weeks. And these guys have actually perched and posed and ignored me while I snapped away, flash going, barely 6ft away. :-D

Thanks for the compliment about the pictures. I am still learning all the features on this camera as I just bought it in April.
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flowerpowereverett
18 years ago
Jenny - Congratulations. Looks like you've got male(s)! In the 2nd pic, the little guy doesn't have as many whiskers. Great shots. Ruth
paisley_tx
18 years ago
Congrats! Nice pics. My thought is you've got 2 different juvies, at least it looks that way from your pics.
jenny_in_se_pa
Original Author
18 years ago
I wonder if these guys are my female's children??? :-p

What is also cool that I forgot to mention is that when I got home, I took down, cleaned, and refilled the feeder. And when I went back out to hang it, there was a hummer hovering in the empty spot where the feeder had been hanging, pecking at the home-made ant moat (which I had made from a red plastic Maxwell House coffee jar lid)! LOL It was like "Hey!!!! What happened here? Where's my FOOD???!!!" As I approached, it backed up to let me reconnect the feeder and flew to the side while I straightened it. Then it finally returned about a minute later.

Also last evening was the very first time that I heard my hummers chirp! Wow!!!!! All summer has been silence... Not even any sound from the wings. Now I was hearing all sorts of racket... not too dissimilar from sparrow chirps but shorter and more abrupt in duration.

One other interesting observation is that for all the years that I have lived here, I always had spider webs - many quite large and intricate, with huge spirals attached from the balcony ceiling to the balcony rail or to the tops of my overhanging shrubs along the rail (a distance ranging from about 3ft - 4ft in diameter). But for the first time ever, not this year... Not a spider web to be seen. And of course I know why! ;-).

Here's another pic from last evening... looking for an "incoming"! LOL
Pam_Jean
18 years ago
Beautiful pics! I love the poses that you captured.

Everytime I approach with the camera, my hummer flies off, but if I'm without it, he stays.

When I removed the feeder to clean and refill this morning, my hummer perched right in the spot where it's located and looked left, right and all around as if to say "Where the heck is it." Rushing to put it back, I dripped the sugar water all over the kitchen floor.

Pam
jenny_in_se_pa
Original Author
18 years ago
Pam - most of the poses are just dumb luck shots as my camera shutter is sometimes a bit slow to engage. Sometimes I have to watch them for a bit and anticipate their moves so I'll be ready. Using the "burst" mode sometimes can help as it captures a series of pictures over a couple seconds and if the hummer suddenly backs up and starts to fly away, you can often get 1 or 2 good shots out of the series.

And LOL about rushing to rehang the feeder! Sometimes I'm so afraid that if I don't get it back in place in time, they'll leave my place forever and never come back! These little ones certainly have us on a leash. lol
Pam_Jean
18 years ago
Jenny, that's exactly what I think about getting the feeder back in place LOL. I try to refill it at night so I can do it calmly. - Pam

Juvie male(s) and friends (foes)?!

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Juvie male(s) and friends (foes)?!

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