Humming Birds

[Mike McKenzie]

Well, nothin' to do while sittin' around with a broken leg except take a few pictures with my new Camera (Full Frame CMOS Sensor BTW) from the chair on my back Patio...

Anna's hummers are our most common but I had a stray Male Rufous hangin' around for a few days... Anyway here Ya' go.. enjoy the show...
P.S. I did a little "paintin' in the background with the with lens bokeh... (200mm F2.8 IS II)

The following 4 shots are Female Anna's
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/stripermike/Humming%20Birds/FemaleAnnas1_zps58d20de9.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/stripermike/Humming%20Birds/FemaleAnnas2_zpsd2f0d55d.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/stripermike/Humming%20Birds/FemaleAnnas3_zps60158a2d.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/stripermike/Humming%20Birds/FemaleAnnas4_zpsbff93f31.jpg

The next bunch are the Anna's Males
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/stripermike/Humming%20Birds/MaleAnnas2_zpsd788f333.jpg

Here's a guy with an "attitude"!!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/stripermike/Humming%20Birds/MaleAnnas3_zps6c755a08.jpg

Pretty green back.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/stripermike/Humming%20Birds/MaleAnnas4_zps0ea50f8e.jpg

Dueling Males...territorial fight!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/stripermike/Humming%20Birds/MaleAnnas5_zpsa8e11df8.jpg

The last 3 are Male Rufous Hummers
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/stripermike/Humming%20Birds/MaleRufous1_zps42727157.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/stripermike/Humming%20Birds/MaleRufous2_zps468b4d14.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/stripermike/Humming%20Birds/MaleRufous3_zps1b0d35dd.jpg

[Darian]

Great photo's!! The Rufous hummers look like they've all got their landing gear down on approach to the flight deck.... :cool:

[TonyMuljat]

Those photos are outstanding! I love when the rufous' come around. You don't see them to often. My favorite hummingbird story is still just last year when my cat Pippa caught one out of mid air, and brought it underneath the patio couch. I went to see what was happening and that bird just buzzed out from under the couch and right by my head. Hope all he had was a good scare.

[Mike McKenzie]

Great photo's!! The Rufous hummers look like they've all got their landing gear down on approach to the flight deck.... :cool:

Maybe they were usin' their "landing gear" for "Flaps".. They were flyin' slow or I wouldn't have got the shots..;)

Mike

[Mike McKenzie]

Those photos are outstanding! I love when the rufous' come around. You don't see them to often. My favorite hummingbird story is still just last year when my cat Pippa caught one out of mid air, and brought it underneath the patio couch. I went to see what was happening and that bird just buzzed out from under the couch and right by my head. Hope all he had was a good scare.

Good catch... You probably saved it from being "lunch"..

Mike

[jbird]

Fantastic shots Mike! Love the gorget on the males! From the right angle with the right light, its like they just flip a switch and "BLING!!"

What on earth did you do to your leg???

[Mike McKenzie]

Fantastic shots Mike! Love the gorget on the males! From the right angle with the right light, its like they just flip a switch and "BLING!!"

What on earth did you do to your leg???

You are right "BLING" it goes and "blink" it's gone... On average I get one shot out of 50 that works, if that.

As far as the leg goes, I was bein' a good "Samaritan" helpin' out a neighboring Rancher move a herd of cows that had busted out of their pasture and were grazin' on other folks grass (which happens to be called "lawns" for some of them). We were hazin' the cattle back down the Canyon tryin' to get 'em back on their side of the River at the bottom. The river was runnin' more like a small creek because of the drought...

Well, needless to say, with us bein' foot-back instead of settin' atop a horse to do this cow work, when they got down to the bottom they decided to bust out arunnin' up the river instead of across it.

With all the excitement, I temporarily forgot I was a almost 74 year old acting like I was 24 and started runnin' down the hill to try and head them off. ( steep hill about 45°) The short of it is, that I jumped over a patch of slick rock but instead of landin' in dirt like I thought I was going to do, my left heel landed on the side of a rock which twisted my ankle out to the left and I heard a loud "POP" as I came down in a pile, about 20' in front of the cows.

I couldn't get up so I'm alayin' there throwin' rocks, sticks and dirt clods at the cows tyin' to turn em... The guy I was helpin' manged to get 'em back across the river and thanks to the wondrous pain killin' powers of adrenalin, he didn't have to pack me up outt'a the bottom of the canyon. I walked myself back up to the house. Found out the next morning at the hospital, I had a broken fibula just above my ankle.. First and last time for herdin' cows afoot! That's what God invented horses for!

P.S. Got off the crutches today and in a "walking boot" till the end of the month then I get back my own boots and shoes!

Mike

[jbird]

Wow! That sounds like a scene right out of a John Wayne movie Mike ;) Hope you heal up quick and strong

[Mike McKenzie]

Wow! That sounds like a scene right out of a John Wayne movie Mike ;) Hope you heal up quick and strong

More like right out of Dumb and Dumber.. :D ! Healin' up pretty good so far...

[DLJeff]

Fantastic shots Mike. I love stop action so we can see the feathers and the way the wings and tail are used. The male Anna's are so territorial; they must burn hundreds of calories chasing their rivals away. We won't get our hummers for at least another month.

[STEELIES/26c3]

Great shots
happy hasty healing

[Dick]

Great shots. I can't get them in the air shots. Guess my camera is too slow. Have to get them sitting on the feeder. So far they haven't arrived here is the Eastern Sierras or at least that I have seen. Have had a bunch of Painted Lady butterflies come through.