humminbirds

fishlessman

have had a nest since 89 off my deck, last years ice storm destroyed it but he's back. dont know how long they live but the family returns yearly and one takes over the nest. hard to get a sun shot of the little bugger. ive seen up to a dozen sitting on the branch before they disperse

milesofsmiles

First nest I've seen, we feed lots of them fast flyers. The cats ( inside ) that is their live action discovery channel. Smiles to you.

RRP

Mike,

I found this info:

Q. How long do hummingbirds live?

Most hummingbirds die their first year, but when they've survived a full annual cycle, their life expectancy goes up dramatically. The record age of a banded ruby-throated hummingbird is 6 years, 11 months. The record age of a banded rufous hummingbird is 8 years 1 month.

Ron

bitslammer

I love watching them and trying to get that "perfect shot" of them while sitting on the deck. One thing I never knew about them was how territorial they are. The one in the pic below takes up watch from my tiki torch and will dive bomb any other hummingbird except for his mate.

Occasionally there will be 3 or 4 at a time and he can't run them all off so it becomes a mini high speed dogfight as they are zipping all around the feeder. Very fun to watch.

fishlessman

explains why i get up to near a dozen at the nest site in the spring, may be 3 or 4 generations meeting at once. this will probably be a skipped generation, its too late in the year for nesting, weather we've been getting probably wasnt right for them this spring. dont know how they keep the eggs in the nest, that branch really whips around in a 30 mph wind.

fishlessman

my bird dog sleeps within ten feet of the nest, birds not afraid of the dog, just the guy with the camera :laugh:

fishlessman

i need a bigger zoom lense, thats a nice shot. i like the arial combat show

Cpt'n Cook

That is a nice shot, what lens did you use for that beauty? Our feeder has been a bust, there are some hummers around but they don't come to the feeder much and the nectar just drips to the ground and draws ants. I could get some nice ant photos I suppose :S

I have heard that Ruby Throated Hummingbirds are very territorial

vidalia1

We have them a lot in the summer here in GA. I saw one a few weeks ago who looked sick because he was just sitting on the feeder. I found him the next morning dead but still clinging to our tomato basket. I buried him. It was sad to see... :S

fishlessman

for some reason the hummers near me stopped hitting the feeder too, maybe it has something to do with the nesting and their diet changes. my feeder was going empty about every three or four days, but the last fill has gone weeks.

Cpt'n Cook

Mine drips itself empty in about three days.

fishlessman

the one at camp was doing that, we siliconed the metal screw that holds the perches on.

Essex County

We've been trying to attract them to our yard for years. We've had one and only one for the past 5 years. Last September, we stayed at a B&B in Pinkham Notch, NH. They had lots of feeders and there were maybe two dozen hummingbirds on the property. Lots of fun to watch!

bitslammer

Cpt'n Cook wrote:

That is a nice shot, what lens did you use for that beauty? Our feeder has been a bust, there are some hummers around but they don't come to the feeder much and the nectar just drips to the ground and draws ants. I could get some nice ant photos I suppose :S

I have heard that Ruby Throated Hummingbirds are very territorial

Nikon AF-S 70-300mm 4.5-5.6
Also used the SB-600 speedlight in remote mode setup below and to the left of the bird in the shot. That plus the built in flash to get some interesting lighting.

Spring Chicken

Cute little critters, aren't they...





Spring "Wonder Whatever Happened To Me" Chicken
Spring Texas USA