Busy, Busy Ruby-throated Hummingbirds
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It’s been about three weeks since I shared the female Ruby-throated Hummingbird enjoying her winter so far in the Hong Kong Orchid trees along The Broadway in Everglades City.
She is still here to my delight, and I hope yours!
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Ruby-throated Hummingbird (female)
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“Peek-A-Boo”
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (female)
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“Nailing the Back-Arch Competition”
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (female)
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I overexposed this next image but loved the overall bird framing. So I tried my hand at a black and white process, then with two crops. I couldn’t decide which I loved better so I’m sharing both.
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Ruby-throated Hummingbird (female)
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Ruby-throated Hummingbird (female)
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By golly, we’ve got great news! This pretty gal now has a male friend who is also hanging around the same orchid trees.
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Ruby-throated Hummingbird (male)
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Ruby-throated Hummingbird (male)
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Ruby-throated Hummingbird (male)
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“Look Ma, No Wings”
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (male)
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“Going In For The Prize”
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (male)
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Maybe there’s more to this winter meet-up between this pair! hehe 😉
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Photos by Donna 
Wonderful captures!
Thank you, Cindy!
All are gorgeous in-flight images, Donna! I love them all.
Thank you, Deborah!
You’re welcome!
Sweet! What great captures.
Thanks much, Brian!
Wonder of Nature, beuty in motion – great Donna!
It never ceases to amaze me! Thank you, Hans!
What a wonderful collection of hummer photos, Donna! I love seeing them feeding in flowers – much more appealing than feeding at the feeder, when it comes to getting pictures. Lucky you!
Thank you, Susan! Those orchids just sweeten the shots. I so much love their challenge, what fun they are!
You must know that I like them a lot. Every year I wait until they visit my backyard. Great pictures, my friend. Take care! 🙂
For you, HJ! 😊 I feel like I’m having Spring already with seeing them. And I do love the challenge of getting a shot of them!
Nice set, Donna! I’m glad they are having a good winter. I won’t see ours here until early May. Amazingly, they seem to remember where I hang plants for them. If the plants aren’t in that spot, they will hover looking for them, sending me scurrying to the nursery. 🙂
Thank you, Eliza! You probably know, the majority go to Central America, but sightings are showing a few are stopping in southern Florida and the Keys for their winter. Who could blame them! I’ve also since learned there are some RTHs now becoming year-round residents and are breeding in lower Florida. 🙂
Interesting! Why not save all that energy and danger crossing the Caribbean only to have to make the return trip a few months later? I imagine that with all the residences now in S.FL, between the landscaping and folks using sugar feeders, they find plenty to eat there.
I was thinking that too! At 53 beats a second, that’d save 🤔…..well A LOT of energy! (that’s a math problem for a math scholar lol). Birds are quite smart, aren’t they?!! 😃
More adaptable than we think. 🙂
Beautiful
Thank you!
My pleasure😘
Very nice! Always fun to photograph hummingbirds!
Thank you, Reed, most definitely!
Love these! shared on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ExploringColour/status/1353120321323192320
Awwww…..thank you so much, Liz! ❤️
Did you catch any mating or territorial displays? Our Anna’s male gets close enough to almost part my hair when he is feeling his feeder under threat! He creates a metallic sounding buzz at the bottom that wild dive. Took us a while to figure out what was creating it.
No mating displays that I’ve seen but I have heard the buzzy chatter when one comes to the other’s tree, lol. Then a quick chase happens. I’ll keep my out eye for more of their fun!
Awesome shots! In the summer when I put my hummingbird feeder out, the male hummingbird always chases any female away when he comes to feed.
Thanks Hien! Maybe that’s what the male is doing with this female, he chases her away and then returns. 🙂
Wonderful series, Donna!! Love the hummer in action!
Thank you, Indira! They are sweet, little birds full of tons of energy!
Very nice! I find that second composition of the B&W version more compelling, but both are lovely. Glad you are getting some great photo opportunities.
Thanks, Ellen! They have been a lot of fun. Thank you also for your input on the B&W too, I am back and forth on both for different reasons myself. 🙂
Wonderful photos Donna. 😊
Thank you, Mike!
Lovely, and I love those orchid tree flowers too, together with the hummingbirds they are very striking. You’re making me see Florida in a different light!
Thank you, Sel! It is beautiful and remote down where we are camping, this is our second winter here. Everglades City is a small fishing town with a resident population of 500. Birds are everywhere here and nearby, and I’m having a blast! 😊
Sounds wonderful!
Wow! These are gorgeous! You got two really beautiful things together: the flower and the bird! Beauty overload! But it’s a good thing.
Thank you much! I love getting a berry or flower in a bird image, it’s a bonus. 🙂
Beautiful shots and colours, Donna. I am still hoping to capture a hummingbird in flight, hovering.
Thank you, Jane! I’m still in practice mode with these fast little gems, I miss many myself. Keep trying, and have fun with it!
Lovely shots of this elegant little bird!
Thank you, Belinda, they are little jewels!
I liked the black and white crop.
Thank you, Tom. A bad photo turned out swell!
So cute. Those are some bright flowers.
Thank you, Vic!
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Amazing pictures, Donna, especially the last one! 🙂
Thank you very much, Barbara! 🙂
Gorgeous series of shots, Donna. ❤️
Thank you very much, Irene! 😊
Wow Donna, what amazing captures of an amazing bird I would so love to see.
Thank you, Ashley, those orchids really add as a bonus. 🙂
Hummingbirds always seem so happy! But they’re also pretty territorial out here. Are those two sharing the tree with other hummingbirds?
They are happy birds! There are five orchid trees total, three of the trees are in a row. The male will not let the female sit in the first big tree, he chases her away. She’ll sit in the last tree. The middle tree is up for grabs always! 😉