For the past several days I have been having fun photographing ruby-throated hummingbirds. However, females and immature hummingbirds vastly outnumber the males which actually have a “ruby-throat”. I wanted a picture of a male!

Finally today I discovered a male who was defending a patch of perennials. Whenever another hummingbird entered the area he would swoop down and attack. However his “chase away” tactics were impossible to photograph. Trying to focus on one of the smallest birds in North America while it performs aerial maneuvers at extremely fast speeds was beyond my capabilities. After waiting patiently for over an hour this particular male  ruby-throated hummingbird decided to feed, and thus provided my an opportunity to take my photographs! I hope you like the result.

• View this project’s Flickr photo stream. (click upon images to view at full size)

Male Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

All winter long in northern Minnesota we dream of summer and wild flowers. For most of you in North America, wild flowers bloom much earlier than August, but here in Minnesota we are finally experiencing the burst of colors! The end result is nectar becomes easily available for ruby-throated hummingbirds, and those same birds become much easier for we photographers to find! For the third day in a row … hummingbirds (different location every day)

• View this project’s Flickr photo stream. (click upon images to view at full size)