Flora’s Successful Return?
Remember Flora? I wrote about her last year in my August post (you can read it here). Flora is a female Broad-Tailed Hummingbird who not only graced my backyard the two prior summers, but she also laid eggs in her nest here each summer. Sadly, those babies didn’t survive but she returned this summer, nested in a different tree, and appears to have finally been successful in raising offspring.
I got a late start this year preparing for Flora’s return and wondered if I had missed her. It was late June and no sign of a nest in her usual tree and even more importantly no sign of her. I had even added a second feeder in my yard, an ornate hanging one with hummingbird-attractive flowers in it. Finally, on the 4th of July no less I got a photo of a hummingbird in my yard. I know I can’t be positive this is Flora short of DNA testing (does “23 and me” do birds?). (As always, all images are best viewed full screen by clicking on it)
Above - My first photograph of a hummingbird this summer (July 4th). Flora’s return?
Given the relatively short lifespan of the species of about two years it’s probably wishful thinking on my part. But even if it’s not, then any new female hummingbird henceforth who resides in my yard shall be called “Flora” in her honor. Also, there was a twist this year. She was accompanied by a – gasp! – male hummingbird! Flora tried to tell me he was “just a friend” thinking I was naïve enough to believe her. Okay, I don’t know if it was just platonic or not, but she has allowed him in her territory (i.e., my yard) all summer and I caught him in all his red gorgeous gorget (neck) color while sticking his tongue out.
Above - This is a male Broad-Tailed Hummingbird which can be identified by its red neck, known as a gorget. Also, note it is sticking its tongue out after sipping nectar.
A couple of weeks later I still did not see a nest in the same pine tree and when it became apparent it would bear no nests this summer, I started inspecting other trees in my yard for nests. I never found one but I did find Flora frequenting a clump of conifers behind my yard.
Finally, in mid-July I began to see a small and less colorful hummingbird, indicating a juvenile. It was occasionally accompanied by Flora, a sign that she was training it to fledge out of the nest and gain its independence. She had finally had a successful clutch of at least one baby somewhere nearby!
And then I started seeing Flora with two young ‘uns! She likely had the more typical hummingbird clutch of two eggs, and it was apparent they both made it.
My goal was to photograph Flora and one of the kiddos together. However, since they were out of the nest by now and zipping around together at 25 mph (a blink of an eye if your subject is a mere 3 inches tall), I wasn’t too optimistic. But one day I heard one of them chirping in one of my other large pine trees and fortunately perched on a very visible branch. As I began clicking away, I discovered a surprise. On a branch much deeper in the tree sat Flora keeping an eye on its almost fledged “baby”. I couldn’t get both in focus but at least I had gotten both in a single shot, an achievement I was willing to settle for.
Above - Can you see Flora sitting deep in this tree? I focused on the young hummingbird in the foreground in this photo.
Until, that is, she suddenly flew to Junior, hovered for a good ten seconds, and appeared to give advice about the realities of the cold, cruel world that her baby would soon discover.
Above - Flora is hovering near her offspring to give a “last lecture” to it about the cold, cruel world out there. (Well, that’s what this looks like to me)
Below are three more shots of the two of them together.
Since I now had three and sometimes four hummingbirds visiting on a regular basis, I decided to push the envelope and experiment with unique techniques of photographing them. Specifically, I wanted to go against the grain of shutter speeds that are traditionally used to photograph hummingbirds. Typically, most photos we see of hummingbirds in flight “freeze” the wings of the bird by using a shutter speed like 1/5000 second. I wondered what my photos would look like if I shot at something like 1/60 second, an eternity in the world of bird photography. Well, most of them looked like you know what but a couple gave an almost ethereal look that more than hinted at a sense of their motion as evidenced in the photos below.
And it was with that unorthodox camera setting that I later accidentally got some magical shots off. I have a raised vegetable garden box on my patio that I water daily while I sip my morning coffee on the patio. One day I heard the wing trill of not one, not two, not three, but four hummingbirds zipping in and out of the sprinkler water, much like we used to do as kids on hot summer days to cool off. Fortunately, I had my camera outside with me but it had been set to that slow shutter speed. Knowing I likely only had a few seconds to get anything, I snapped away. Most were terribly out of focus but a couple that weren’t yielded some of my favorite shots I have ever taken of a hummingbird. Below are some examples.
I’m not sure if the babies have fledged completely yet but hopefully, I will continue to be visited by these joyous little creatures throughout the rest of the summer. Hummingbirds typically start migrating south after Labor Day here, so I still have some time this summer. to enjoy and appreciate every minute of Flora (the original or 2.0), her “babies” and yes, that mystery male friend while I can. Closing out this month’s post below are some more fun shots of Flora and the baby(ies).
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