Famosa Slough, the small wetlands between the San Diego River channel and Point Lomo in San Diego, which I have visited several times here in the past week or so, is a great place for urban waders, ducks, gulls, bushtits, and, as it turns out, kingfishers, but it is also an excellent place to find Anna’s Hummingbirds. I have never been there when there weren’t several working the edges of the marsh from high perches in the small trees. On every visit I try to find one facing the sun so I can get the gorget lit…but I have had no success so far. They seem to resolutely face the other way, probably because that is the marsh side where the bugs fly, and probably because they find it easier to hunt without the sun in their eyes.

The Anna’s, by the way, is one of the few, if not the only, hummingbird that sings. You can hear their buzzy song at Famosa Slough most days.

The first two shots are taken from different sides of the tree. 1) I am  facing north, and 2) is facing south, so the bird, in both cases has its back to the sun.

I was able to catch this interesting, if imperfect, shot of the fanned tail from underneath.

Canon SD100HS behind the 30x eyepiece on the ZEISS DiaScope 65FL spotting scope. All at just about 3000mm equivalent field of view and f8. 1) and 2) 1/100th @ ISO 100. 3) 1/200th @ ISO 100. Program with iContrast and –1/3EV exposure compensation.

Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.