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Monday, May 7, 2012

Humble Hummingbirds


 I found solitude out on my deck  with the birds a few days ago.

Last year I purchased a cotton ball from a bird store to hang outside off the house.
None of the birds paid attention to it until now.

This year is another story!

Apparently the hummingbirds love picking their cotton from this ball now.
By positioning my chair, and using my 70-300 mm Nikon lens I was able to a small series of photographs of them in flight.


No two hummingbirds will pick at the cotton together.
Just like they do at my feeders.
One at a time, for territory measures.


Over and over they pick and pick.
One of them has the cotton ball rocking so hard with the blasts of the beak bearing into it.
The ball goes swinging back and forth.


Above is about the usual amount they take from the ball.
Then they fly off toward the big trees, not near my house.
Gee I wish they would stay and build here.


They see me alright out of the corner of their eye.
With their wings going a mile a minute.


I can hear thier ticking before they get to the ball.
It gives me advance notice to turn on the camera.
The goal is to continue to work on better photos of them in flight.


15 comments:

Breathtaking said...

Wonderful photos of these humming
birds,you will certainly get hours of pleasure watching them.

My husband did the same thing last year, and most of the birds that visit our garden made use of the
cottenwool.Unfortunately I did'nt
have my new Nikon camera then!!

Michiko Johnson said...

It was a lovely photos that make me
all ways in your butterflies.

Ellie said...

Oh you captured some wonderful shots. They are such lovely little birds - I've never seen one in real life before only through pictures on different blogs.
I've not heard of a cotton ball either - what a great idea.

eileeninmd said...

Amazing captures. Well done!

Stephanie said...

Great pictures !
Stephanie

Remi said...

Fantastic pictures ....
Have a wonderful day .. :)

MadSnapper said...

these are truly amazing. love all of them, my most favorite is 3rd up from the bottom, when it popped up i sucked in my breath. they are so sweet, and the cotton ball is news to me. keep snapping

TexWisGirl said...

these are awesome, janie! glad they found your supply for them! (and i like the photo of you on the sidebar.)

PKB said...

It is really hard to capture these little guys and you have done it so well! What a great idea to mount a cotton ball.

Dianne ... Walking In His Grace said...

Wow,How sweet is that. You got some amazing captures here Janie.Your cotton ball sure paid off. Your hummers are beautiful and you got nice clear shots with good detail.

I haven't seen mine since that day, but I have been busy working and all.
I sure hope they keep coming back. I need the practice. Ha! They sure are fun to watch.

Happy Humming my friend, and have a great rest of the week.
Dianne :)

Anonymous said...

What amazing photos! The next time I pass a field of cotton, here in my neck of the woods, I will definitly be stopping to grab some for my hummers!

Dawn @ Words Of Deliciousness said...

Wow, I look the pictures of the humming birds. Really Cool!!

Anonymous said...

These are amazing! I'm going to have to find one of those balls for my hummingbirds. They've just started showing up in the last couple of weeks, but they've already emptied 2 of the feeders. I doubt mine would next near the house, either, but it's worth a shot :-)

Catherine said...

Such fantastic shots - wonderful!
xo Catherine

Here I Am Carrie said...

What great captures. Also great idea for nest building material for them. Must have been great having the chance to get these guys in action.