Some pics---NDR

Al Hansen

Well-known member
Funny how not having a camera could affect me so much. Well it did. I have to admit that I had a hard time waiting for Fed Ex to arrive yesterday but they made it and my day then was complete.

Cascabella turned 12 weeks old yesterday, got her shots, and we found out that she weighed 18.9 pounds. What a sweetheart she is turning out to be.

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Serrano is 6 1/2 months old now. Bev is leaving for Wisconsin in less than a month so maybe we can catch up on some bumper retrieves?

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Chip is proving to be one awesome dog. I really enjoy his personality and companionship. When I start heading for the Mule, he is three steps ahead of me and already in the seat. Teal season can't come soon enough. He's 13 months old now.

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Just fooling around. Having these dogs in the house is fun but work, too. We love it.

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As for the hummers, it has been extremely difficult to just watch them and knowing that I had to wait for my camera. The migration is on in full swing down here. We have seen a huge influx of calliope and rufous hummer in addition to more of the locals, which are the black-chinned and broad-tailed species. I speculated that we had maybe 250 to 300 hummers in the yard yesterday. They were all over the place. I'm glad our desert willows are in full bloom. They help, also.

Over the course of the last few days with their numbers growing steadily we went through 96 ounces of nectar in less than a day. So now when we go to the grocery store we end up buying 20 pounds of sugar instead of just 10.

I decided to hang up a 16 oz. feeder on a lower branch of a Granny Smith apple tree. It took the hummers less than 10 seconds to come down to this spot and begin feeding.

This is a juvenile male rufous.

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This is an adult male calliope. They are North America's smallest birds. The female is just 2 1/2 inches long. I guess they have to be my favorites. Hopefully they will hang around here until the 3rd week of August before they start getting restless and head for Mexico. Check out that gorget of his. Its beautiful. They use them to attract the females and can spread them out. I think it is purple but not sure.

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The first hummer is an adult calliope female, I believe. Look how much smaller she is than the juvenile male rufous in the background. That plastic coated wire I believe is 3/16ths of an inch and look at how tiny her feet are.

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The adult rufous male doesn't seem too concerned with the two hummers trying to get him out of the way from licking nectar. Their long tongues can lick at a rate of 16 times per second.

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This is a juvenile black-chinned male with his tongue out.

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Not a place for the timid.

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I looked over at the creosote bush that the hummers like and decided to pick up my chair and feeder and move out into the open. With the feeder in my left hand, I just sat there as still as possible while operating my camera with my right hand. These hummers were approximately 16 inches away from my lens. It took them maybe 30 seconds to come over and begin to feed. Now you know why I have so much fun. I look forward to April 1st because that is when the first ones arrive here. Then in July they begin to migrate south once again. By October I have to wait another 6 months before I see them again.
Al

This is a juvenile male black-chinned hummer.

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This is a juvenile male rufous. Hope you enjoyed these.

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Al~

I'm glad you got your camera back!

Of all of these wonderful images, I was really struck by that portrait of Chip - so pensive.

All the best,

SJS
 
neat pictures of the humminbirds Al....very cool....i'm gonna get a bunch of plants planted that will hopefully entice some to come visit me

Serrano sure got big....amazing how quick they grow
 
Al, the pups are looking great. The pictures of the hummingbirds are incredible. What lens are you using, and how close will they let you get to them? The detail is unbelievable! I got a DSLR last year, but haven't been able get any quality wildlife shots. Might need more lens power. Thanks for sharing, Jeff
 
Al~

I'm glad you got your camera back!

Of all of these wonderful images, I was really struck by that portrait of Chip - so pensive.

All the best,

SJS

Thank you, Steve. It is a darn good feeling. Chip has more than one of those looks by the way. He is also one of those special dogs that thinks he can carry on a conversation with you.
Al
 
Those are some fantastic pictures Al! The iridescence on those birds is incredible.

Thanks, Cody. To try and catch the sunlight on the gorgets of the males is tough but on occasion you can do it.
Al

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neat pictures of the humminbirds Al....very cool....i'm gonna get a bunch of plants planted that will hopefully entice some to come visit me

Serrano sure got big....amazing how quick they grow

Hey Dani,
Bev and I try our best to provide flowers that the hummers love. One of the things I would recommend would be to look on-line and see what flowers they like grow well in your area. Since we live in a high desert region and are part of the northern reaches of the Chihuahuan Desert I have found that penstemon are wonderful along with a tree that grows well here called a desert willow. Their blossoms look almost like an orchid. Another plant that we got going was an orange trumpet flower. It is a vine and grows very well here.

Serrano is a sweetheart. I will be working some more with her to see what the two of us can do. The bumpers are readily available.
Al

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You had me at Casa LOL


Thanks, Bob. We just took her in for her 12 week shots at the beginning of this week. She is doing very well and those legs are beginning to grow now. She's not quite 20 pounds yet. Her favorite to play with is Serrano. They get along well together.
Al

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Al, the pups are looking great. The pictures of the hummingbirds are incredible. What lens are you using, and how close will they let you get to them? The detail is unbelievable! I got a DSLR last year, but haven't been able get any quality wildlife shots. Might need more lens power. Thanks for sharing, Jeff

Hi Jeff,
Thanks so much for those comments. I happen to use two lenses; 100-400mm L IS and a 24-105mm L IS. I like my walk about lens which is the 24-105mm. Since I can be so close to my subjects, the hummers, I much prefer this lens. Jeff, most of the time my pictures are taken at distances of 2 to 6 feet and no more if I am at the feeders. If I am trying to take their pictures at flowers I need to use my long lens then. Two days ago I was about to hang one of my feeders and two hummers came to start feeding while I was holding it to hang it on the hook.
Al

75 mm on the shot

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73mm on the shot

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70mm on the shot

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Then when I went outside yesterday morning I took these 3 shots. I had spooked about half of the hummers away from the feeders when I first walked out there. We don't see mist/fog much around here just because normally it is so dry. Same lens, the 24-105mm L IS f4, was used.

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