Birders notes: This little bird is a “year round” bird in my area ; Santa Clara County, but I tend to see it more in the Spring and Fall. I think they fly further north for their breeding season. They are quite busy and rarely stay still. They require a lot of patience to get a photograph of one in my experience but, they’re so cute, and beautiful the wait is worth it. 🙂
Nikon D700| Nikkor 200-500mm|Lexar Digital Film| PS CC 2017
Saturday I paid another visit to the wildlife refuge with the Anna’s Hummingbird chicks to see their progress. Seeing them was nothing short of amazing! Each visit brings new delights, and wonder to my eyes and soul.
They were bigger and their feathers, and colors were more like Hummingbirds now. I must have just missed Mom when I got there.
It wasn’t long before she returned to feed them. Here’s probably the last image I’ll have of them together as a family.
After feeding the chicks rested a minute. Then the one on the right got very active flapping its wings preparing for flight.
…and before I knew it it did an in flight turn just milliliters above the nest and BOOM! it was on the branch! ” Ta Da! Look! I’m as big and beautiful as Mom!”
Siblings on the verge of Adulthood, and Flight.
I heard yesterday that they are flying around well above the branches now. They’ll be leaving the nest today I think.
I feel so blessed and lucky to have seen these two delightful gifts of nature.
Nikon D700| Nikkor 200-500mm| Lexar Professional Digital Film| PS CC 2017
Here’s the post I promised on Monday here that I would be sharing this week about a birding surprise.
After sunrise, and a little birding last Saturday Gordon, myself, and another friend went to breakfast then we headed over to another part of Don Edward’s Wildlife Refuge to check out the Anna’s Hummingbird on her nest.
I had heard from a good friend that she had had her brood of two. There were indeed two chicks in the nest, and their eyes were open!
They waited for Mama to return to the nest with food! They were so quiet. I thought they would be peeping constantly, but they didn’t. They look too big for the nest already don’t they. Mom must sleep on top of the nest with them smooched down into the nest to keep them warm at night.
This nest isn’t deep in the canopy either! It’s pretty exposed.
When the chicks are new their Mom will leave the nest for very short periods of time. Just a minute up to 15 minutes to find food. The chicks can’t keep warm without her so she doesn’t dare leave them alone long. Once they can regulate their own temperatures and keep warm she leaves the nest to forage for food for up to 20 minutes. This Mom would leave for 15-20 minutes, but return to do buzz or hover check several times too.
Here is the Female/Mom just returning from a food sortie.
Two little beaks hungry and not patient anymore.
Food at last!
She eats insects and drinks nectar which she regurgitates as a liquid mixture into the open mouths of the chicks. She’s on the go constantly hunting for food and feeding the chicks every 20 minutes! The male doesn’t help at all feeding or raising the chicks. If the male does come around the Female will chase him away b/c she finds him a threat to the chicks.
These chicks are already a couple of weeks old. At 3 weeks old they will look more like Hummingbirds, and will be testing out their wings more to get ready for flight. Once they’re flying the Female will show them how to catch bugs, and drink nectar, and within a few days of that the chicks will fly away as adults never to return to the nest.
I can’t tell you how amazing this was to watch and photograph! It was gift! It’s so moving, and beautiful watching her feed the chicks and knowing how dedicated she is, and how tired she must be. These images were made on March 18, 2017
I dropped by Thursday afternoon (3/23) to see them. They were still in the nest with Mama feeding them every 20 minutes. There was quite a crowd there, and I had #1 Grandson with me. He got a kick out seeing the chicks too. I didn’t break out my camera today. I was holding #1 in my arms so he could see them, but I’m hoping I can get back over once more before they fly from the nest which may be as early as a week and a half away.
The Chickadees are back! This little one was flying down to the feeder to grab a peanut then fly back to a perch inside the safety of my Camellia bush.
I’ll leave you with a poem about a sweet Chickadee by Hanford Lennox Gordon
Chickadee, chickadee, chickadee-dee!
That was the song that he sang to me–Sang
from his perch in the willow tree–
Chickadee, chickadee, chickadee-dee.
My little brown bird,
The song that I heard
Was a happier song than the minstrels sing–
A paean of joy and a carol of spring;
And my heart leaped throbbing and sang with thee
Chickadee, chickadee, chickadee-dee.
My birdie looked wise
With his little black eyes,
As he peeked and peered from his perch at me
With a throbbing throat and a flutter of glee,
As if he would say–
Sing trouble away,
Chickadee, chickadee, chickadee-dee.
Only one note
From his silver throat;
Only one word
From my wise little bird;
But a sweeter note or a wiser word
From the tongue of mortal I never have heard,
Than my little philosopher sang to me
From his bending perch in the willow tree–
Chickadee, chickadee, chickadee-dee.
Come foul or fair,
Come trouble and care–
No–never a sigh
Or a thought of despair!
For my little bird sings in my heart to me,
As he sang from his perch in the willow tree–
Chickadee, chickadee, chickadee dee:
Chickadee-dee, chickadee-dee;
Chickadee, chickadee, chickadee-dee.
~Hanford Lennox Gordon
Nikon D700| Nikkor 200-500mm @460mm| Lexar Digital Film| PS CC 2017 & On1
It was quite a weekend for me with two back to back trips to Yosemite National Park. We begin on Saturday Feb. 11th; my friend Dali, and I headed out early for the park traveling route SR120 which was open when we left the Bay Area but, when we got near the gate to the park there was an electronic sign saying there was no access to the valley from that entrance due to a rock slide. The Ranger told us there was an alternate route into the valley but it was a 2.5 hours journey from there to the valley. Unfortunately, that would have put us in the valley after 5pm and we needed to be in place, camera set up, and ready to start photographing by 5pm or hours sooner knowing what the crowds can be like at this time of year. So, disappointed we turned around and headed back home. That was 8 hours on the road and nothing to show for it. It’s not the first time!
Not totally defeated, and ever the optimists we knew we still had Sunday! We met earlier Sunday morning the 12th, and drove the slightly longer southern route to access the valley. The southern route is lower in altitude and usually open all year, but even this year with all the rain there were rock slides, and it was closed for a day the week before, and on “call ahead” status for days after before we left! Fortunately, Sunday morning the road condition site said Open so, we forged ahead ever hopeful. With a stop for lunch, and gas we made it into the valley without any delays, and hiked to our spot in plenty of time to set up and photograph what we had planned.
What would entice us and hundreds of other people to spend 16+ hours driving back and forth to Yosemite National Park in two day you may be wondering? If my post’s title didn’t give it away… Horsetail Fall! 🙂
In mid February for about two weeks (give or take a day or two) if the conditions are just right the sun will shine on the waterfall and light it up orange-red. It’s amazing it looks like lava flowing down the cliff face.
What are the perfect conditions to see this? There has to be water flowing. This waterfall is fed by rainfall, and snow melt, and there has to be sun to light up the waterfall.
In February having sun isn’t a given. I’ve been skunked in years past waiting and hoping the sun would peek out from the gray clouds to light up the fall only to be totally skunked. No light what-so-ever hitting the cliff face or waterfall. It was still fun waiting and anticipating the event with hundreds of other photographers, and vowing to be back next year to try again. I did show up the following year, after year, after year.
Having water hasn’t been a given these last 6 years either. Being in California with the drought there were years it was just a trickle. This year with all the drought busting rain, and snow up in the mountains we knew there would be more than a trickle of water flowing but, we had to have sun too. Thankfully, we had perfect conditions Sunday. Water flowing and Sun!
Here is an image from the peak of the phenomenon. This is very nearly straight from my camera. I ran this frame through Adobe Camera Raw for Lens and Camera Corrections, and I did correct the sky. To capture the true color of the fall my camera washed out the sky. I added the blue back in the sky, and removed my dust spots, and I opened up the shadows a little bit. Overall very few post development adjustments were added to this image. This image was shot at 120mm.
I thought I’d try making a Timelapse from the stills I made. It’s crude, and a bit jumpy as I zoomed in and out a few times to get a closer look, and I change the angle of my camera once during the shoot in the beginning.
Timelapse made with 145 still images.
If I’m going to do more Timelapse videos I’ll have be more disciplined about my set up and shooting. I hope you enjoy it despite my shortcomings as a videographer.
This is the 7th year I’ve been photographing this phenomenon. So, was it worth the 16 hours on the road? OH YES! I’d do again. “)
Nikon Df| Nikkor 80-200mm| Delkin Digital Film| PS CC 2017
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