Anna's Hummingbird 2 by John Dicus

John Dicus | all galleries >> The Lower 48 States, Continental USA >> Early Efforts > Anna's Hummingbird 2


	John Dicus

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Guest		07-Jul-2008 03:53
This is a good close up! ... seeing just what this ones head looks like is easy.

Andy Jones		18-Mar-2006 19:37
the long weekend waiting was worth it..lovely

John Dicus		18-Mar-2006 08:38
Hey Pablo, thanks for the comment. The trick with this bird was in the timing, no one-way mirror was involved. After a long weekend of close observation and photography of these hummers, we found that they always came in for one long drink just as it began getting dark, before they flew off to roost for the night. During this last long drink, they were always more accomodating to a careful, slow, close approach. This bird was about 2 inches from the lens, held out at arm's length when I tripped the shutter. The flash lit him up and he didn't even stop drinking. Hummingbirds slow down their metabolisms and enter a state of torpor (basically a deep hybernation) each night. It takes a lot of nectar to power those super fast-twitch muscle cells in a hummingbird's body. So keep your feeders clean and filled!

Pablo Yáñez		18-Mar-2006 04:24
Wonderful image - the scaly metallic feathers around the face makes me think of their reptilian ancestors. You must either have a one-way mirror or a real way with birds I can NEVER get anything like this close - then again the East coast HBs seem to be nowhere as daring as the ones I was used to out in Zona voted

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