Hummers! - 08 Aug 2009

Robin and I took a drive out to Carleton, MI this evening to visit the Clark residence. Sister Jo and brother-in-law Jay have been hosting Ruby-throated Hummingbirds for several years now, and have the feeders to prove it. With feeders attached to the kitchen windows and more hanging out on the deck there are numerous places for the hummers to feed.

As we visited in the kitchen a pretty female hummer landed at the feeder just a few inches away. I ran out to the car and grabbed the D300 and Better Beamer to see if I could get some pics. I stood on the edge of the deck and pointed the camera toward the window feeder. A second feeder was just a foot away, but too close to focus on w/ the Sigma 400mm. Each time the female approached my slightest movement scared her away.

Meanwhile a red-throated male landed on the overhead wires and chattered at me just a few feet away. As I turned to grab a photo he flew off to the trees. Meanwhile the female landed on the feeder closest to me. I turned to get a photo and she flew off. Then the male returned and landed on the deck feeder behind me. I turned to grab a photo and he flew off.

You get the picture...

We saw at least three birds in the 45 minutes we were there: 1 male and 2 females. An interesting observation involved a male trying to use the window feeder but being chased away by a female each time he approached. It was as if she had claimed the feeder as her own.

I'll have to get back there to try again before they fly off to North Carolina... :)

3154 O'Hara Road, Carleton, MI, Monroe, Michigan, US
Aug 8, 2009 6:00 PM - 6:45 PM
Protocol: Stationary
Checklist Comments:     Yard
1 species

Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris)  3

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S166079874

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