Anna's Hummingbird

Gallery: AvianPosted February 6, 2011144 views15 comments

Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)

Place: Water Ranch, Gilbert, AZ
Date: January 31, 2011
Equipment: Nikon D200, Nikkor AF-S 300/2.8, TC20E (2x), Gitzo 1325, RRS BH55, Sidekick
Exposure: ISO 400, Aperture priority spot metered 1/640th aat f/5.6
Raw, PS CS3 on Mac G4, 55% of frame

Just a random shot of an Anna's Hummingbird catching the morning sun before our recent cold spell.

I'm posting this as an excuse to talk about the effects of the cold spell on the hummingbirds. We had three nights of sub freezing temperatures even here in Phoenix, and other parts of AZ had it much worse. Our birding listserv is full or reports of expired hummingbirds, and we found a deceased Costa's by out front door a couple days ago as well. We put out extra hummingbird feeders hoping to mitigate the problems but that wasn't enough to ensure survial of all the birds.

As always: honest critiques requested; all comments appreciated. Larger image provided for critical viewing.

Comments

15 comments

Comment posted by Richard Teller on February 6, 2011 at 1:21 PM

As always Richard, the image is top notch. the colors, detail, perch, dof and background are all great.

Registered on August 23, 2010, 1162 Posts, 6692 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on February 6, 2011 at 2:33 PM

Really nice shot of this Anna's Rich. Love the colors, details, and sharpness.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on February 6, 2011 at 3:55 PM

Nice image, clear and detailed. I do find the plant coming in the frame from the urc distracting. Sorry to learn of the plight of the hummers. Thanks for posting.

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Balke on February 6, 2011 at 8:54 PM

So sad to hear of the hummer tragedy, Richard. This situation was new to me so I searched around on the Internet. Naturally there is plenty of info. One recommendation I found that looks practical is to add protein to the sugar water solution. In this reference the author ground up meal worms in his blender and added it with very good results for hummers on cold nights.
http://books.google.ca/books?id=m6SrsYLQ_V0C&pg=PA157&lpg=PA157&dq=protecting+hummingbirds+from+cold&source=bl&ots=K-8-DV2zkn&sig=Wb7s20GEoV0r95NH6k6_LuEwniQ&hl=en&ei=Uk5PTY3JEsfTgQe34-D-Dw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CDsQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false

Must make future food from his blender tasty too!
Regarding your hummer image posting: great color and head turn. I like the perch but I'm not so sure about the little OOF branch at the hummer's tail.

Registered on June 18, 2009, 229 Posts, 2915 Comments

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on February 6, 2011 at 9:36 PM

Lovely light, details and sharpness which I have come to expect with your images. Great pose, eye contact and comp too.

Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments

Comment posted by dan elster on February 6, 2011 at 11:02 PM

The irredecence on the birds back is beautiful! Here in southern Oregon, we have male anna's year round and it's hard to believe they survive the cold snaps.

Registered on September 23, 2005, 299 Posts, 2443 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on February 7, 2011 at 7:35 AM

Excellent detail, I especially like the way the early light is hitting the bird & the backside view.
Winter is tough on the little guys, thanks for the info Richard

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments

Comment posted by David Williams on February 7, 2011 at 2:17 PM

Nice light on this little guy, Richard. I heard about the hummer problem from a friend......pretty sad.

Registered on March 8, 2005, 315 Posts, 2291 Comments

Comment posted by Monica Siri on February 7, 2011 at 3:34 PM

Richard,
I like the iridiscence so well captured and the comp too. Sad about the hummingbirds story.

Registered on September 20, 2009, 132 Posts, 3764 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on February 7, 2011 at 4:58 PM

Amazing how these birds can glow when viewing at certain angles. Good perch and good light to show off the hummer.

We had record setting low temps in Tucson last Thursday (18 degrees) and Friday (19 degrees) mornings and it was obvious the hummers were living on the edge. I brought my one feeder in every night to keep from freezing and then I noticed the most activity I have ever seen around the feeder on Friday morning. Vicious fights went on all morning trying to get to the sugar water. I went to the store and put up 2 more feeders and spread them around our place hoping to stop some of the fighting. I did not find any dead hummers in our area like others had seen but it was sad to see some of them were just barely hanging on.

Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments

Comment posted by David Haynes on February 8, 2011 at 12:45 AM

Richard,
Very sad to here of the sub freezing temperatures in an environment that is not used to it. The strong survive ensuring that the offspring are even hardier than the previous generations. Now, your image. I really like the little seed pods that appear to be tantilizing the humming bird. They look like hands. Normally I think this would be a distraction but I really like those in the image. Very nice details as well Richard.

Registered on February 20, 2010, 110 Posts, 1511 Comments

Comment posted by Albert Darmo on February 8, 2011 at 8:39 PM

Hi Richard

Another great capture of a hummingbird. wonderful detail, color and light.

Albert Darmo. Canada

Registered on November 25, 2008, 1386 Posts, 11978 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on February 8, 2011 at 10:37 PM

Rich, I read the posts on the listserv about the hummers down there--a sad story--I'll be interested to hear how it impacts numbers over the coming months. Up here we hit below zeros again, but obviously no hummers around for that, just hardy winter species. Love the light on the bird here and its pose, as well as the mesquite perch and pods. Composition-wise I might remove a hair more from the left (or add two hairs more to the right) but just barely a hair.

Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on February 9, 2011 at 1:50 AM

Just lovely Richard - beautiful setting, light and detail. I know you don't like tampering but I'd be tempted to remove the oof twig below the tail.

cheers
Rob

Registered on November 8, 2003, 617 Posts, 8267 Comments

Comment posted by Jeff Loomis on February 9, 2011 at 3:00 PM

Wonderful shot that really captures the iridescence on the back. Nice and sharp with very nice lighting.

The information on hummers dying is sad for sure. Interestingly, we've had an adult female Anna's here in Pennsylvania (1st confirmed record ever) since November. We've had lots of snow and cold temps (in the teens at night), yet she seems to be doing OK. It will be interesting to see how long she hangs on and what she does when spring finally arrives.

Registered on January 26, 2010, 68 Posts, 719 Comments