Posts in Category: hummingbird
Not a ho hummer!
Ruby-throated Hummingbird: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, June 2025 — Lousy light is often the best light for hummingbirds, if you want to catch the gorget in all its glory. The day stated overcast and dull yesterday, but, for the first time this summer the male Ruby-throat was very active around the feeder, and was posting guard on the little branches we have fixed to the deck for perches, and I had time to watch it and get some photographs. They needed treatment for noise in post, but the gorget is as good as I have ever seen it. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Volcano
Volcano Hummingbird: Batsu Gardens, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, March 2025 — One of the two smallest hummingbirds (with the very similar Scintillated) in the mountains of Costa Rica. This one was working the flowers around the observation deck at Batsu, high above the Savegre River on the mountain side. Despite being only small, they are totally fearless. 🙂 Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Mountain Gem
White-throated Mountain Gem: Miriam’s Quetzals Cafe, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, March 2025 — There is a little Cafe halfway down the sharp mountain valley of the Savegre River, perched on a little shelf high above the water, where they serve good food and coffee and where the birds of the cloud forest come close. One of my favorite spots in the world. 🙂 This is an aptly named White-throated Mountain Gem…a gem indeed, and at home in mountains of Central America and Costa Rica. I am always so happy to encounter one. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator. (The Cafe had a new name when I was last there in March…but it is still Miriam’s Quetzals to me.)
Male and female White-necked Jacobin Hummingbird
Male and female White-necked Jacobin Hummingbird: Dave and Dave’s Costa Rican Nature Park, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, March 2025 — On the day we visited, the White-necked Jacobins were dominating the hummingbird vista at Dave and Dave’s. They are the most aggressive of the local hummers, and some days, they are all you see. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds-in-flight and action modifications. (1/2000th). Processed in Photomator. Assembled in FrameMagic.
Female Green-crowned Brilliant
Female Green-crowned Brilliant: Mirador y Soda Cinchona, San Jose, Costa Rica, March 2025 — The hummingbirds were not very active around the feeders at Cinchona, compared to previous visits, but this was my first trip in March so I did not know exactly what to expect. Mario, our guide, did say that feeder activity was unusually low the past few weeks for some unknown reason. This is a female Green-crowned Brilliant…probably the most plentiful hummer at mid-elevations. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Violet Saberwing
Violet Saberwing: Mirador y Soda Cinchona, San Jose, Costa Rica, March 2025 — The hummingbirds were not particularly active around the feeders at Cinchona this visit, but we did have our only opportunity to photograph the mid-elevation Violet Saberwing…one of the two largest of Costa Rican hummingbirds, only rivaled by the Talamanca of higher elevations. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Coppery
Coppery-headed Emerald Hummingbird: Mirador ye Soda Cinchona, San Jose, Costa Rica, December 2024 — One of only two endemic hummingbirds of Costa Rica, and the only one that I have seen…almost exclusively at Mirador ye Soda Cinchona. The relatively small Coppery-headed Emerald is closely related to the Snow-cap and some authorities place it in that otherwise lonely genus. This one only showed up after we had pretty much packed up to leave. I am glad we delayed just a little longer. Sony a6700 with Tamron 50-400 Di iii @ 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Violet is the color
Violet Saberwing Hummingbird: Mirador ye Soda Cinchona, San Jose, Costa Rica, December 2024 — The Violet Saberwing is among the largest hummingbirds in Central America, and in the world. Surprisingly it does not dominate the feeders where other species overlap, which is almost everywhere in its range. It is a bird of the foothills and mountains of Costa Rica. There is noting to match its deep rich iridescent purples or the flash of its white tail. Again, these shots were on our rainy afternoon on the deck in Cinchona. Sony a6700 with Tamron 50-400 Di iii at 600, 423, 474mm equivalents. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Brilliant!
Green-crowned Brilliant Hummingbird: Mirador ye Soda Cinchona, San Jose, Costa Rica, December 2024 — The whole family…an adult female, immature male, and two shots of the adult male. They were never in sight all at the same time, but in 90 minutes on the deck at the Soda in Cinchona, we saw all three. The females were by far the most numerous, everywhere in the bushes around the deck, I did not identify the immature male for what it was until later that evening, and we did not see the male until we were packing up to go, but see them all we did. Sony a6700 with Tamron 50-400 Di iii at 600mm equivalent for all but the full body shot of the male, which was at 471mm. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Wild Hummingbird
Ruby-throated Hummingbird: York County, Maine, USA, August 2024 — Until this year I would have said that encountering Ruby-throated Hummingbirds away from any feeder, in the wild, was very rare. This summer I have had half a dozen encounters, and gotten photos in two of them. The problem with wild sightings is that, without a feeder to keep them close and coming back, you only have seconds to react…to get the camera up and get off a burst or two of shots before the hummingbird is off to find fresh flowers. And of course, around a feeder you are “primed” for hummers…ready both physically and psychologically to capture the action. Just out on a stroll, seeing what you can see, it is much more difficult to snap to focus and snap the photos. And, of course, it is a testament to how well bird recognition, eye-tracking auto focus works that any of these chance encounters result in focused images. 🙂 Sony a6700 with the Tamron 50-400 Di iii VC VXD zoom at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife and action and flight modifications. (I switched between the two shots…so these are shots from two different bursts…on is at 1/500th and one is at 1/2000th. Can you tell which is which?) Processed in Photomator.