How About A Midwinter Hummingbird Break?

A Rufous Hummingbird to be precise.

Due primarily to inclement weather and unreliable weather forecasts it’s been nine days since I’ve been out in the field so I’ve been posting more older photos than usual. Persistent cloudy skies, wind and cold temperatures have me thinking of sunshine, green colors and summer birds so today I decided to take a hummingbird break to scratch my itch.

 

1/6400, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in

This photo was taken four summers ago as the Rufous Hummingbird was feeding on Rocky Mountain Bee Plant (Cleome) nectar on Antelope Island. It has many of the features I prefer in my hummingbird flight shots including ‘frozen’ wings, colorful wildflowers and a completely or mostly clean background directly behind the bird. I think the subtle pinks and greens in the background bokeh are a nice touch.

Some of my social media friends who live in warmer climes have been posting photos and videos of hummers they’ve been enjoying in lush green settings in midwinter and that made me jealous.

“Green with envy” isn’t the kind of green I prefer but I’ll admit it, that’s partially what inspired this post.

Ron

 

36 Comments

  1. Beautiful!

    Charlotte Norton

  2. I’ve lately been perusing my photo folders too, primarily looking at spring flowers and birds that don’t stay around during our cold winters. Actually — anything with green in it catches my attention. LOL Thanks for posting all your wonderful photographs, be they from the past or just yesterday. All are appreciated.

  3. This photo is pure perfection, a little jewel of a bird enjoying her nectar on a beautiful sunny day! (But I’m not going to complain about the inch of rain we got in the last 12 hours!)

    • Chris, here’s what one of my Facebook friends posted this morning. I believe he lives in California:

      “Another 4.0 inches of rain fell yesterday and last night. That is 9.75 inches of rain in 7 days!”

      • He’s either north of me (or east toward LA Co.) — Santa Barbara Co. & northward got pounded yesterday/day before, but storm slowed considerably over Ventura Co. areas and so we got a lot less. But STILL not complaining! More than I thought we’d get, given expected La Niña conditions this year.

  4. Here, in the Pacific Northwest, we are fortunate to see hummingbirds throughout the year. Seasonal movements of Anna’s Hummingbirds are not well-known but they do not have a north-south migration, so we see them at our feeders all year long. Even on cold winter days with temperatures well below freezing (which we have not had this year; it’s 43° this morning) we still get to enjoy our hummers. It seems like a contradiction to many people to see temperatures in the 20s while the Anna’s Hummingbirds are actively feeding. In our store, we sell heaters to go on our hummingbird feeders to keep them from freezing. It’s a great pleasure to have them here all year. It’s also a sign that there are always some insects around. Hummingbirds can only exist on nectar 10-12 days at most. They need protein and that comes from insects and spiders This is also the time of year to look for breeding activity in the Anna’s as they start breeding in January to mid-February. In another 2-3 weeks the first Rufous Hummingbirds will begin arriving to start their breeding. They may be small but hummingbirds are tough. Many are known to live 10-12 years whereas a similar-sized mammal (pygmy shrew) may live only 8-10 months. Thanks for the great photo.

  5. I’m with you, Ron. A hummingbird break is perfect today. Thanks

  6. Ron,

    Love the shot and bush and bird and bokeh, etc. I agree with the “unreliable weather forecasts” comment. I have stayed home a number of days recently because the weather apps and forecasts called for unfavorable photographic conditions when in fact I wake up to a blue sky day! Frustrating to say the least. At least you have a wealth of great pictures to share with us and cheer us up! Thanks for that!

    Stephen

    • Stephen, Inaccurate forecasts and even inaccurate satellite photos of clouds (how does THAT happen?) are a huge gripe of mine. Sounds like you’ve had some similar experiences.

  7. Beautiful, I tend to forget what summer was like every winter.

  8. We have no hummers – and I will admit to some avian envy. Thank you for this beauty.

  9. A sunny, warm Hummer summer day. What a delightful selection from the past as a reminder of brighter and better days to come, in so many ways.

  10. If I could be a bird – it would be a hummer! We have them all year here in the desert. Love them – beautiful sharp shot Ron.

  11. Arwen Professional Joy Seeker

    We get Rufous’ in the late part of our hummingbird season. They are much better about sharing the feeders. The Black-Chinned’s are so zealous I think they spend more time fighting than feeding. This shot is stunning, professor!

  12. Mary Mayshark-Stavely

    Thank you, Ron. Especially welcome on this especially cold (-6) morning!

  13. After seeing some comments, I’m considering myself very lucky to have my hummingbirds year round ❗️
    Hoping some of our storms make it your way 😁

  14. You had me at Hummingbird.

  15. Luv it! 😍 Rufus are the only hummers we ever get here and that’s in late summer when they’re heading south again. It IS a lovely break from our dreary “browns” right now……. We also desperately need snow….

  16. Everett F Sanborn

    Outstanding photo Ron and greatly appreciated during these winter months. That Rocky Mountain Bee plant sure looks beautiful. Wish we had them here.
    We had about 20″ of snow the past few days and then more coming later today. I went out yesterday just to see if any wildlife around, but it was just too hard walking through the deep snow. I needed snowshoes for sure. Was very easy though to observe just by looking at our two major lakes that the three visiting pelicans and four Tundra Swans were gone along with the four Sandhill Cranes. Hope you can get back out soon.

  17. You make my day, Ron. Your photograph is a superb tribute to this feathered beauty. It’s a bird species I saw only once so far in my life. They are vagrant up here in Quebec and I did not travel enough in the western part of north America to provide me many occasions to find him.The bokeh could not be more accurate and I like this take from all angles. Too bad for you that you are confined to the house because of bad weather conditions, but nothing happens for nothing since this is your opportunity to find old treasures buried in your image box. Have a great one!

    • “You make my day, Ron.”

      I appreciate that, Laval. A lot. I’m getting tired of being stuck in the house and having to post older photos but on the other hand I’m sure glad I have them.

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