Hummingbird Tales

ZIP! ZOOM! SNAP! YOU HAVE TO BE QUICK TO CAPTURE PHOTOS OF THESE TEENSY BIRDS, BUT MANY BIRDS & BLOOMS READERS WERE REWARDED WITH MEMORABLE MOMENTS.

EVERY SUMMER I try to get to a local preserve frequented by ruby-throated hummingbirds. It’s a good place to meet other photographers. A bright and sunny day gave me the assist I needed to catch this lovely hummingbird.

Robert Kaplan ROSLYN HEIGHTS, NEW YORK

I CAPTURED THIS photo of a female Anna’s hummingbird at a Rockin’ Deep Purple salvia. I live in the Skagit Valley and am usually able to photograph Anna’s in my backyard all throughout the year.

Jamie Bartram SEDRO-WOOLLEY, WASHINGTON

MY FAVORITE BIRDS to photograph are hummingbirds, and I’m so glad they love the rose of Sharon bush outside near my deck.

Karen Smith NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

We are lucky enough to have Costa’s hummingbirds year-round. Recently, this gorgeous male perched outside our kitchen window every day for about two weeks. As if on cue, he would wait for me to come to the window with my camera and then position himself in such a way as to show off his beautiful gorget.

Carla Ritter IVINS, UTAH

As I was hiding behind a weigela shrub, trying to photograph the hummingbirds gathering nectar from the pink flowers, I saw this juvenile Anna’s sitting inside of the plant. I felt so fortunate to capture it before it noticed I was there.

Donna Ruiz CAMERON PARK, CALIFORNIA

I TOOK 30 PHOTOS of this beautiful female broad-tailed hummingbird as she sipped nectar from my Cold Hardy Pink salvia. I am blessed to see these flying jewels from about mid-July to the first week of October each year.

Linda Minns GOODWELL, OKLAHOMA