Backyard Hummingbirds

Nebraska is a poor place to photograph hummingbirds.  For the most part, we are only visited by a single species - the Ruby-throated Hummingbird.   The majority of hummingbirds that arrive in Nebraska,  stay a day or two and then depart for other locations.

I've been fortunate to be able to attract hummingbirds at all.  Truth be told, I stole mine from the neighbors.  I thought that putting up a feeder in my yard would attract a bird of my own.  But, the little birds are very  territorial and the bird next door now has to keep all other hummers away from my feeder too.  My feeder doubled his workload. 

These photos were taken with a 2 flash setup.  I used Einstein strobes, set to their lowest level.  I had too much ambient light to completely stop the wings.

This is my favorite shot from today.  I like the way that the wing on the right is twisted as the hummer makes a turn.

I didn't have many opportunities to photograph the male - he was too busy guarding the feeder to eat.

I liked the way that the natural background works in this shot.