Springtime has brought strange buzzing sound on the patios of the Stone House. It’s not safe to stand too close to anything red. Sometimes the buzzing comes from multiple directions and a black flash loops overhead. This can only mean one thing…the Hummers are back!
The first scout arrives.
The local legend is that scouts arrive first and take word back to the glimmer that feeders are plentiful here or there. I don’t know if that’s true or not but I put out feeders two weeks ago. Last Saturday this female arrived and spend an hour looking around. By Wednesday I was inundated.
Perched…
…parched…
…and perturbed.
Males and females alike are staking their claim on the feeders. One will start feeding and suddenly they are taking cover…
Sitting tall..
…ducking for cover.
It’s been cloudy all week so I’ve yet to get the kind of shots I love to take of these guys – ones where their feathers reflect in the sunlight. For now I will have to settle for low light shots.
Heavy Drinker
Mohawk
Of course the fun of shooting hummers is trying to catch them in flight. Sometimes I just point in the direction of the sound until I spot one in the viewfinder…
A 10 for style
Hovercraft
Soaring upward
Coming in for a landing
I’m fascinated by the iridescence of the throat feathers on the males…
Ruby throat feather glow when they catch the light
The same male, turned away from the porch light
He turns slightly and catches the light again
And finally he turns back to feed – his back feathers are pretty impressive too
So far I have counted 6 different hummers – and they’ve only been here a week.
This small female is very assertive about her feeder territory
This shy female waits for the others to leave before feeding
They all are already putting on quite a show…
Squeegee’s nap is interrupted by the aerial display above
…and this is just the prelude. Spring is officially here!
the eff stop 
Lovely photos of these little birds, Lorri! I wonder at their beaks… do they ever open them wide like other birds do or are they more like tubes for long tongues?
They do open their beaks and they chatter, but I don’t capture it very often. They do everything fast.
very impressive set!
Thanks so much! They are a lot of fun to shoot.
What amazing shots, Lorri. Wow…. and I love Squeegee’s look of dismay….. 😉
Thanks Paula. Squeegee is always dismayed if the topic is not Squeegee 🙂
haha! I know a lot of folks like that!
Sadly, we all do 🙂
Oh those are great shots. I am late with getting my feeders up. I’m on it right now, though.
Thanks. I was a bit early, but I had been watching online for sightings. We should finally get some sun tomorrow. I’m looking forward to getting some sunny shots.
Wow, really stunning images, Lorri.
I can never quite get over the unique shapes of these little birds. They are quite simply beautiful.
The low light didn’t make them any less photogenic and impressive in the final shots.
(the best I get outside my window at the moment is a little blackbird tweeting rather faintly).
Fun! Thank you!
Russ
I just love hummers. I have had a hard time with them here, but maybe it’s because of the other birds. I don’t really know. Maybe once I’m moved I’ll have better luck. Wonderful pics!
Mine have no concerns about other birds – their feeders are on the same patio. I love them too – thanks!