Dumb luck shot - insect feeding!

21 years ago

Closeup:

{{gwi:2366}}

This morning I found out where my little lady was hanging out... She has been down at the other end of the balcony perching. Every year, both early morning and late evening, I would always see big annoying swarms of gnats and other insects gather right at the ceiling in that corner where she is positioned in the picture, and they would usually hang around there for a good long time.

Well she found them and has been guarding that area ("territory"), perching on my blueberries, lilacs, beautyberry, tomatoes and squash trellis, occassionally going to the feeder (which starts a chase), while the 2 juvie males have generally been hanging out closer to the feeder some 20ft away from where the female has been perching! She actually let me watch her go after the bugs early this morning, darting to and fro, tongue flicking (it's cool to see a tongue in person - better than seeing a picture!), and beak snapping. Some 2 hours after I saw her feeding the first time, I caught her down there again and managed to snap a picture. But I didn't realize what she was doing at that moment because there was some chasing that preceded this and I wasn't sure which one was up there and what they were doing other than posturing from the chasing (it was her based on the pic). That's by my bedroom and I have a door that goes out to that end from the bedroom, so I snuck out to take a peek and get some pics. A shame the flash didn't go off but then maybe it's good because you can clearly see the insects and her tongue in silouette!

Who needs Terminix? LOL

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Comments (14)

flowerpowereverett
21 years ago
Jenny - Those are awesome pics! I was lucky enough to see it this year, live, but you were able to capture it! Great job!

When I observed this feeding, I heard the little male tweeting and he was perched on a maple branch, moving his head from side to side in tune to his tweeting, and he snagged a couple of gnats. Amazing to watch that tongue. Thanks for posting. Ruth
claire_de_luna
21 years ago
Great picture! I'm so glad you're there to catch the action shots.
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Deb__H
21 years ago
Check out that tongue!!! Great shot!!

Deb in PA
amy_z6_swpa
21 years ago
Wow!! What kind of camera did you use, with what settings?
jenny_in_se_pa
Original Author
21 years ago
Hi Amy... The camera is a Kodak Z740 digital (5 megapixels, 10x zoom). In many cases, I just use auto or the "Sports" macro. But in this case, it had been dialed to the manual mode (by accident) and the info for the pic reports f 4.5, ISO 80, shutter 1/750th sec, exposure comp. 0. It was zoomed to a 220 mm telephoto lens equivalent.

I already had the settings preset for that manual mode, although I forgot that I had also set that mode to suppress the flash too (for use in bright light, not the overcast that we had today).
texaspuddyprint
21 years ago
Jenny...

Cool action shot!

I see hummies zipping around the citrus trees after insects but the tree and leaves turn the backdrop very dark in photos so the bugs dont' show up.

Much too hot to stand out in the middle of the yard this time of year...maybe in the fall when the skeeters back off and the weather cools :o)

Thanks for sharing...that was a great action shot!

~ Cat
stephenNJ
21 years ago
Great shots and story Jenny! those are spectacular images youve captured.
Thanks for sharing- stephen
jap373
21 years ago
Of course we hear they are eating insects, but rarely do we get to witness it!! This is great...definitely a keeper!

--Jane
roberta_nc
21 years ago
Great shots, Jenny!
glok
21 years ago
These are too cool, Jenny! Thanks for sharing!

glo
rosewomann
21 years ago
Is it just me or did anyone else notice it is going for my number 1 foe: the detestable mosquito? My heart is leaping with joy at the thought that hummers(as well as dragonflies) will eat mosquitoes! I can't go out for a minute without being devoured. When I do go out I must be covered in repellents or my trusty bug outfit which turns the temp up about 20 degrees. And that is not fun for this 49 year old- not tolerating heat too well these days!
I see one juvie hummer(very skittish so I guess he's young) pretty frequently on my Agastaches & Salvias but the rest of the family seems to be elsewhere. I was reluctant to put out feeders because of the extra work keeping the water clean(& instead tried the red lunchbox idea-thank you,Jenny), but I will do it in a heartbeat now that I know they will eat mosquitoes! Any discounts anywhere for a LARGE feeder purchase? Jenny, you are the source of great information! So glad I dropped in!

Rose

Maybe there's a chance I can stop landscaping for the view from my window only. I can once again walk the yard(OK , maybe I'm being melodramatic, but I'm excited!
catwhiskas
21 years ago
Awesome shot Jenny!
jenny_in_se_pa
Original Author
21 years ago
Rose - it sure does look like a mosquito! We need to hire these babies out! LOL
BlueIntrepid
21 years ago
Great shot Jenny! I never thought I'd see a hummer with it's tongue out in the process of catching a mosquito! So very COOL! That is a terrific action shot.