Wet White-necked Jacobin

White-necked Jacobin Hummingbird: Dave and Dave’s Costa Rican Nature Park, La Virgen, Costa Rica — Another shot from Dave and Dave’s. They put out fresh Heliconia flowers each day as perches for the hummingbirds that frequent the sharp slope and natural vegetation behind their home, where you can sit on the deck and watch and photograph the birds as close you could want. Even the pouring rain of the passing cold front that greeted us on our arrival in country, could not dampen the hummingbird’s sprits, or ours, while we watched them. White-necked Jacobins are the dominant species at this elevation and in this habitat, and they jealously guard their favored perches and the heliconia flowers. It is fun to watch the other species of the area make lightning raids on the flowers whenever they think the Jacobins have let down their guard. They zoom in a snatch a drink from the flowers. Oddly, it is rare to see the Jacobins actually drinking from the flowers. They seem more interested in making sure no one else does, than in using the flowers themselves. I like this shot of the wet and slightly ruffled hummer because it shows so much of the feather texture and detail. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. ISO 800 @ f4 @ 1/500th.

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