hummers

Hummingbirds

Photos by Bari
Location: Magnolia, TX
Camera: Canon EOS 20D

Other birds and wildlife - deer, etc., can be seen on our Photoshare Page

Photo above is digitally hand painted in Photoshop CS3

Winged Jewel

With wings spun of silver and hearts of gold,
These tiny creatures our hearts behold.
With angelic features and colors so bright,
Make even the heaviest heart seem light.
The magical way they flit through the sky,
They appear, then vanish in the blink of an eye.
They're sending a message for us to retrieve,
Anything's possible for those who believe!

And, as the southern migration comes once again for Ruby Throats, please read
a beautiful poem about migration from "Bunny" DeBlois Thanks Bunny for sharing!

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Most Recent 2008 Activity:

(Click on thumbnails and then "back" to close). Sorry for the ones that are out of focus, but I love to share their movements.

I was very pleased in July of 2008 when two of my hummingbird photographs were published in "Matthews Mint Hill Magazine." The cover photo is by Howard Cheek from bigstockphoto.com. The other two photos are mine.

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To see the large numbers of hummingbird visitors during their migration south in the Fall of 2007, check out our videos on YouTube - just click the urls:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrLKSoFUt78

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWBPKQieqMY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKqp9SvpTT0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH6P6zJFNxM (holding feeder in my hand)

October 25 - a very cold little guy visited. It was 50 degrees here at 8:00 this morning and I was surprised to see this little guy on a feeder. He's the first one we've seen in a couple of weeks. I sure hope he makes it to his destination safely...

October brought more of these little wonders:

September 16 - still very high numbers, the back yard is a blur (48 cups of nectar yesterday). Some of these pics really aren't in focus, but I love the action going on!

September 14 - numbers the last few days have exceeded 100-150 (80 oz of nectar a day). These were taken early this morning as the sun came up on the back yard.


		front	back

September 9 - early morning action shots. Sun was just coming up, so not enough of the right kind of light for proper focus, but I thought they were interesting images.

and these were taken around noon...






		Love bugs are such a nuisance!

September 3 to 6 - numbers are 100+ (60 oz of nectar a day). We feel so blessed to have so many of these beautiful birds visit us each fall.


This photo is not enhanced - his gorget was truly this RED!

August 28 - numbers are increasing - migration is on! We will be posting new photos soon.

March 16, 2007 - The RT's returned!

5:00 p.m. two adult males spotted (first 3 photos). Too late in the day for good photos (I lightened as best I could with software), but the they are our proof for reference purposes! It is sure good to see them back!

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2006 Final Photos


	Room for Two	Love the rain

	A friend

Sept 15, 2006...a day to remember. OK, for the last few days we thought the count was down. We were seeing 100+ in the am and 100+ in the pm, but during the day much less activity. So we figured they were already leaving us...

2:30 or so this afternoon I looked outside and could not believe my eyes. The entire backyard was FULL of hummingbirds...the feeders, the trees, the sky...it was totally amazing. Some were dipping their bills in the same hole or waiting for just a sec so they could have it for that long.

There were a couple of really little ones...I mean tiny. And they were in every station taking all they could...pushing adult males out of the way.

Sept 4 - count remains high - the sky is just filled with hummingbirds. Have 9 feeders up and going through 40 cups of nectar a day! Many of them are getting quite round.

Sept 2 - daybreak brought a higher count than we've had yet.

Aug 29 - count up this morning to around 200, but as the day progressed the numbers went down - migration moves them through quickly. Here are a couple of picks (a bit out of focus):

Aug 19 - count is probably around 50+ now - we have 7 feeders out and at this rate will probably add 2 or 3 more soon. The Ruby Throats are now going through 10 cups of sugar water a day! A few action shots taken at their favorite feeder - the one with no perches!

Aug 9 - the hummer races continue with the numbers increasing and now the sugar water levels are dropping rapidly, unlike earlier this week where they just wanted to chase, rarely stopping for much more than a sip.

These photos I took tonight at dusk with the flash on my porch while they whirred around me.

Aug 7...our hummer count is probably 20-30 right now...hard to tell, as they are so active - soaring all over chasing each other wildly. The sounds outside are amazing...whirring of wings, the screetching sound they make when they fly so fast they are a blurrr, and the usual variety of chirp, cheep and eek!!! We currently have 6 feeders scattered around the house, but they seem much more interested in chasing each other than stopping for a drink.

I put away the zoom lens for a few "in flight" activities. Then caught some near the garden feeder early this morning before the sun was really up. Wish they were more in focus, but these little ones are FAST!






front	back	flaps down...	through morning dew

Action shots are always difficult, but I keep trying...

"Top 10 Ways to Attract Hummingbirds!"

Compliments of Bill Thompson, III
Bird Watcher's Digest

Click Here for a Beautiful Hummingbird Poem

And a great information site for Ruby Throats is Bill Hilton's great site - Operation Ruby Throat
is a must for all hummer enthusiasts. Bill does RT banding, and has some fabulous photos
- great closeups that many of us could never get!!

Also, you can sign up to support Operation Ruby Throat at no cost to you; then if you make an on-line purchase from iGive--and they have nearly 700 big name stores to choose from (everything from Lands' End to Barnes & Noble)--a percentage of the purchase price is sent to Hilton Pond Center. Just click the iGive graphic below.