Figuring Things Out

Sometimes the moment to capture a scene is a now or never kind of deal. This was one of those. August 30, 2011, I was recovering from surgery, sitting on the back porch at the river. This first-summer male had been flying up to this feeder, and then flying away, several times. (If you look closely, you can see his few red gorget feathers at the base of his neck.) He didn't drink, just flew up and then left. Finally, he managed to get his beak into the feeder, then very slowly, his tail curled around until his feet were on the feeder, where he held on while he drank. Once he managed to hook onto the yellow cage, he became very good at it. The first couple of times were in slow motion, but with practice, he got better. I would have liked to have taken these without the screen in the way, but If I were on the other side, he probably wouldn't have cooperated. 

Several people on our road had feeders up, so it was a busy summer that year. I was the only one who spent so much time watching and interacting with them, though. It seemed like a waste to let such an opportunity pass by with them right outside the house. I'm glad I took the time. ©photos/content/pegyates 2012

More River Experiences

It was a good summer on the river, although I can't believe how different my interaction is with RTs now compared to a few years ago. The photos of Henry were from 2011, this group is 2010.  This was the first RT that showed up, a male. And he very quickly became the owner of the two feeders that were on the river side of the house. A huge mulberry tree was near by, and he never seemed to stray very far from it. The females that  had begun nesting and needed a steady supply of nectar were challenged to get to drink without being run off by him.

I placed one in the holly bush outside the kitchen window on the other side of the house, and he finally migrated around there, and wasn't able to cover all the feeders on two sides of the house, so the females were able to eat more without him interfering. 

He spent a lot of time grooming himself, napping and generally just hanging out. Males have no involvement in incubating or feeding the young, so after he had his flings, he was not too busy. He never fed while I held the feeder either, but spent time at a few other feeders besides mine, and the females were pretty good at knowing when to show up. ©photos/content pegyates/2012

The Reason

I have always thought hummingbirds were the most amazing things. The smallest bird in the world is reason enough, I guess, but there's so much more. The east coast where I live is home to only one species, the Ruby Throat. There are occasional strays, mostly the Rufous hummingbird from out west, but the Ruby Throat is the only one I have ever seen.

My brief experience with them began in Ohio, when I lived there, but it was only for a month or so, before they migrated south for the winter. When we moved to the Northern Neck of Virginia, I decided to invest some time in feeding them to see if I could attract them to our yard.

It took very little time before they showed up, and I was given the opportunity to see them up close and personal. This was Henry. A first summer male who began growing his red gorget feathers before the migration south, the summer of 2011, this photo taken late in the summer. This holly bush was outside the kitchen window, and I was able to set my camera up on the tripod, and he very patiently let me snap photos of him nearly every day. He'd show up with pollen on his head, like in this photo, little bits of things stuck to his beak or feathers, and would enjoy a run through the mister that I attached to the garden hose to provide water for them when it was hot and dry.

Henry again, and how we began the hand feeding experiment. His first red gorget feather is right in the middle, at the base of his neck. He was pretty brave, and was the only one for a few days that would take the chance and drink while I held the feeder.

I had my camera on the tripod, sitting on the front steps. It was right up in my face and proved to be quite a balancing act to focus it, and hold the feeder. Henry is coming in at 12 o'clock in this photo above, for what would be his first landing on my fingers. You can see his first red gorget feather at the base of his neck. They don't get a full throat until their second summer. I'm glad I was there for his first. 

He tolerated a LOT from me and the camera, which made clicks and buzzes as it focused. He looked up a few times, but mostly was interested in drinking. I did  have an over-shirt that I put on every time I went outside to fill the feeders or to try and hand feed them. Maybe it didn't matter, but I thought if I was the same each time, they would get used to me more quickly. We had several other RTs, but Henry was the one who was least bothered by my interaction with him. I hope he made the trip south and back for another summer on the river. ©pegyates2012/photos/content