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In the Western Carolinas, we are visited Spring through Autumn by the energetic Rubythroat Hummingbirds. In the past two years, I have heard rumors of an occasional Rufous being in our area in Winter, but I have yet to see one. If you are interested in inviting these tiny birds into your yard, you will not be disappointed. They will wow you with such incredible arial antics as flying upside down and engaging in parallel dancing, which is actually a show of aggression, but is still so graceful and beautiful! You'll need feeders. Perky makes a good line with bee guards. There are pre-mixed feeds, but an easy mixture of 1/4 cup of granulated sugar disolved in 3/4 cups of hot bottled water works just as well. I use bottled water to avoid the chlorine and fluoride in tap water. It is essential to change the mixture at least every three days and wash the feeder in hot weather. There are also excellent, easy to clean, inverted feeders that discourage wasps as shown here and available for purchase at Wildbirds Unlimited. As I write that "they discourage wasps", I just looked out to see yellow jacket wasps with the fronts of their bodies submerged in these feeders and their rears sticking out. Another method I use to dissuade wasps, since a sting can kill a hummingbird, is to place a saucer of stronger sugar water away from the feeder and allow the wasps to feed there. An advantage is that they typically drown themselves.  Planting flowers for food will keep your yard filled with hummers from spring until mid to late September. Hummers enjoy Bee Balm, Verbena, Columbine, Hysops, Butterfly Bushes, Trumpet Vine, Honey Suckle, and other tubular shaped flowers. Bouganvillias really attract hummingbirds, and they seem to enjoy having their feeders somewhat shaded by these hanging plants. Don't be fooled by these pretty photos of hummingbirds with their beaks stuck into roses. Those shots are edited and the roses are probably covering up feeders. Hummingbirds do not feed on roses. Here are some weblinks that will be helpful. How does one photograph a hummingbird in flight? Patience, patience. Hummingbirds are fairly tolerate, and they are always hungry. Their tiny wings must beat anywhere from 60-80 time per second in normal flight and up to 200 times per second in courtship dives. That burns a lot of calories. Their hunger makes them brave during preparation for migration, and they are more social than most birds. They also have a bit of an assertive side and are not easily dissuaded by human presence. The ones that "live" around my home actually hover and fuss at the window if the food runs out. Some photographers use strobes or other studio lights and white or blue backdrops. In the past, I used a strobe a few times to "freeze" the wings, but I did not like the effect. A flash is great for freezing the action and getting a tack sharp photo, but it startles the bird. Rather than having a photo of a perfectly still hummingbird, I'd rather have the affect of the bird in motion, since they are in perpetual motion. Also, I do not like startling the birds with a strobe or a flash. So, I wait for a moment in a day with perfect light, a time when the hummingbirds are present, a time when they are willing to accept my intrusion, and then further wait for just the right photo moment. Occasionally it all comes together. Equipment? Settings? Yes, hummingbirds are probably the most difficult of all wildlife to photograph in action. One must have a quality camera and a zoom lens. My 2006 photographs were taken with a Canon 20D and an ESO 70-300mm F/4-5.6. lens. I use manual setting as well as manual focus and a tripod is a must. I really like the 20D because of the 1.6 conversion, but many shots had too much grain or noise. This year I am waiting for the hummingbirds to arrive. I will be ready for them with equipment that allows for lower light shots with less grain, a 5D, but I am patiently waiting for Canon's Mark III. Even this more sophisticated equipment may not eliminate the grain problem because I rely on natural light, a large aperture, and slow shutter speed setting. I slow down my eposure time to as low as 1/60th, f/4.5 and an ISO between 100-400, so that I am able to capture the graceful wing motion. One tip on how to focus on such a fast creature, is to focus manually on the eye.
As far as metering, I prefer spot metering. Also, to prevent the hummer from being captured too dark, I meter off of dark foliage and ignore my light meter when taking photos of the bird. You have to be careful of your background, though. If you have bright, sunny sky, this method will blow out your sky, but you will have your bird. Try various exposures and see what works best for you.
I will warm that automatic settings and auto focus simply do not work well in capturing humming birds unless you are very lucky!
In working with hummingbirds, I have found the females to be much braver than the males. If I wear a red shirt, some of the females actually play with my hair. Last fall, there was one new hatch male who was very friendly. He'd come right up to my face and hover, turning his tiny face from side to side, just looking at me. He's featured in "Curiosity," "Flutter," and the other photos of the hummingbird with one or two red dots on his throat. What a joy! I've noticed this season that the new hatch females have very graceful, elongated white necks while the adolescent males have stocky necks. Whereas the adolescent females remind me of graceful swans, the teen boys are built a bit like Jeeps. It's still hard to differentiate the two except for the single red dot on the male's throat until early September when the new hatch males begin to develop a distinct five o'clock shadow in preparation for developing those magical irridescent red feathers...one new red feather at a time. At present I have a new hatch male who seems no larger than a grasshopper. I suspect his parents have moved on. If he approaches a feeder, he is dive bombed by multiple older males and is not allowed to feed. Quite accidently I learned that if I stand beside a feeder, he lands as close to me as possible and feeds peacefully. He makes eye contact and looks at me turning his head from side-to-side, but mainly he EATS. He is now my responsibility, so I go to "his" feeder several times a day so he can feed in preparation for his journey South. After all, Hummers have to double their body weight to make the trip safely. With good fortune, he will return next year. |
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