Latest hummingbird effort..

[RVT1K]

..or how I spent my Saturday afternoon.

 

[edsland]

Nice catch

 

[RVT1K]

Thanks.
I wish I could take credit for framing the hummingbird in the circle of bright, out-of-focus light but it just worked out that way.

 

[K9Kirk]

Nice pic, love the colors!

 

[RVT1K]

Thanks!
I've actually lowered the feeder so there are more flowers in the shots. But the hummingbirds have yet to cooperate.

 

[Raw photographer]

Very very nice, I tried getting more pictures of the humming birds the other day and realized they stopped coming, we haven't had humming birds now at the feeder in a couple weeks. Not sure why.

 

[RVT1K]

Very very nice, I tried getting more pictures of the humming birds the other day and realized they stopped coming, we haven't had humming birds now at the feeder in a couple weeks. Not sure why.

I thought that, too.
We had lots of activity initially, then it dropped off to where I thought they had abandoned the feeder. But I also was thinking that there were now lots of flowers in bloom and that maybe they had lots more choices.

But then I realized the were coming to the feeder, just less frequently. I had to spend a lot of time Saturday watching the feeder to get a few seconds of opportunity every now and then.

 

[Raw photographer]

Very very nice, I tried getting more pictures of the humming birds the other day and realized they stopped coming, we haven't had humming birds now at the feeder in a couple weeks. Not sure why.

I thought that, too.
We had lots of activity initially, then it dropped off to where I thought they had abandoned the feeder. But I also was thinking that there were now lots of flowers in bloom and that maybe they had lots more choices.

But then I realized the were coming to the feeder, just less frequently. I had to spend a lot of time Saturday watching the feeder to get a few seconds of opportunity every now and then.

Oh i never thought of that, yes thats very true they must have lots of choices of flowers now.

 

[JoeW6 3]

Thanks for sharing. No such thing as a bad picture of a hummingbird. Nicely framed.

Second, there are lots of reasons hummers may stop coming to a feeder. Your feed may have fermented (change at least every 5 days and if it's in sunlight then every 2 days). If they perceive it to not be "safe" (maybe squirrels going after your feeder). Additional, if a really aggressive male lays claim (adult males tend to be very territorial) that will scare away other hummers. But anything that is red will get their attention. I've even gone so far as to tie red cloth around the trunks of trees or put cup hanging plants with red flowers.

Third, expect a lot to traffic in August and September. They'll be fattening up for the migration south. That's when I always see the most traffic.

 

[RVT1K]

We've seen this pattern of activity followed by not-so-much before.
I suspect it has to do with us getting our (diligently cleaned) feeders out early and being the best available at the time. It is in the same area as a regular feeder that gets lots of traffic.

My friends in MD are quite familiar with the aggressive male. I was there a couple of years ago to photograph "their" hummingbirds and I named this one King Tweet, the Jackwagon. He would chase anyone away.