Description

The day was cold and wet and windy and dark; BUT still, it brought me as unique opportunity to photograph a hummingbird. 
I wasn’t even intending to pick up a camera that day, because there was so little light that the camera exposure at which I’d have to shoot would provide a depth-of-field so shallow that only part of a bird would be in focus.
     HOWEVER, this little male Ruby-throated Hummingbird was cold and wet, and even though he puffed out his feathers to trap the warmer air near his body, he needed to feed so often that he never left the immediate vicinity of my nectar feeder. If he wasn’t using the feeder at the moment, he perched on a branch just a few feet away.
Seeing a hummer so consistently near my back porch for hours wore down my resolve to abstain from photography, so I picked up my camera. The problem was that the bird was so close that any movement on my part would spook him, I thought. But, as it turned out, he was so in need of remaining within feet of that energy boost from the sugar water in the feeder that he didn’t even move when I eased my door open. He remained in place even as I slowly slid out of the door and on to the porch, just 4 feet away from him. I couldn’t believe that he didn’t fly off, but I raised my camera and I took a lot of photos, and he just sat there, patiently enduring my presence.
Still, as expected, virtually all the photos were unacceptable from motion-blur as the wind rocked his branch. The ones here are the best of the bunch. I guess this shows that: “You never know, until you try.” They aren’t the best photos that I ever took, but are okay, and I truly enjoyed the unique experience.

Category

Other

Species

• Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Tags

• male
• Ruby-throated Hummingbird
• Archilochus colubris
• 5 May 2016