As a kid, I loved running through the sprinkler in the the summer. Mom or Dad would set it up on the lawn, my friends would come, and we would enjoy the fun. So on Sunday, I looked out my window and saw the hummingbirds "playing" in my solar fountain. I grabbed my camera and caught a few examples.
Yeah, enough seasons of being an interpretive guide, I know we should not anthropomorphize wild animals\fauna. So, maybe they were getting a drink, or bathing, or cooling off (although this summer has been far cooler than last and Sunday was low 80's and delightful) but it reminded me of my childhood and so I put the camera on burst mode, super high speed, and shot away.
I got so involved that I have been taking photos daily. It isn't easy to catch the right moment. When they sit still, on the feeder its easier, but I don't always want the feeder and I love catching them when there is movement. So, I will keep on experimenting and working at it. Obviously using "burst" mode, high ISO. I want to blur the background but most of these were at f8 so I think I will increase that so that I have a bigger range in focus. Many of these have been cropped significantly which also adds to issues of sharpness, but I love the detail. A couple are clearly not focused but I loved the motion, the speed of the wings, the almost transparent wings at top speed. So, those too are here. They have not been spending as much time in the bird bath or I'll see them in it, grab the camera and by the time I am out the door, they are back to eating or chasing each other off the feeders. There are times several birds feed at once, but this is very territorial and they would expend a lot less energy, need less food, if they cooperated more.
Many immature among the ones at the feeders. I have both Anna's and and Allen's.
I hope in those studies of how much sugar Americans consume, they have a way to subtract out all the people making hummingbird nectar. I am hoping the price does not increase much. Sometimes I think more of my budget goes to feeding cats and birds than me.
Somehow the calendar for the blog and the calendar the rest of us use, are not the same. This was posted August 6, 2025 just after 7 pm.
