Phenomenal pictures!!!

Approx what elevation are you at? Do you usually only get hummingbirds late in the summer? I would really like to get them in my yard!

For other's do plants alone bring hummingbirds to your yard?

Zach, your pictures are always stunning.

I saw two in my yard one day, but for the most part, I think I see generally only one or only one at at time. I've seen both male and female. But never at the same time.

Redbirds in a Tree are their favorite plant in my yard followed by the various agastaches. They also really like black and blue salvia. That is the one plant that will get them up closer to the house. But this year, I added another sun-sail on the deck and I think they are not pleased about that. I may end up moving the black salvia closer to their favorite spot in the yard if I do not see them coming to the deck for it soon.

I also noted that they weren't coming to the Redbirds plant for a couple of days. I had moved a small trellis up against the fence near that plant and that also seemed to throw them off. Once I moved it, they returned to their favorite plant.

I didn't even bother to put up a feeder this year. In the years past they have shown very little interest in it over plants. However, the redbirds is almost done for the season so I may put up the feeder to supplement.

It took me years to attract them to my yard. I just love them!

Thank you both! Hummers are some of my favorite garden visitors in the summer time. I THINK that we are at 55-5600' over there on the west side of Denver, along the hogback, just a little bit southeast of Morrison. The yard is actually at mom's house, but I have done all the gardening over there.

We get them all summer really, this year I didn't notice them as much in the spring, which could be because I'm not there as regularly. In years past I know they have really gotten excited over my Penstemon eatonii, P. pinifolius, and an surprise hybrid Penstemon I got at a swap from Skybird. All of them are spring bloomers. The broad tailed, which are by far the most common here on the Front Range, migrate between the Rockies and Mexico, and they are definitely more prolific at higher elevations, but I have seen them as far east as Bennett. The rufous are typically only "passing through" so I imagine that the female at the house the past couple weeks was on her way back south.

Like Popmama, they don't really go for the feeder too much when there is enough actual flowers that they like to go around. I don't know that mom even put hers out this year. If you do put out a feeder, try tying red ribbons to it to increase the visibility. I think we had them show up the first year that we started putting it out.

The aspen tree is their favorite look out spot, with the tomato and pepper trellises/supports/cages a close second.

The ones in my yard used to really like to perch on one specific branch of my neighbor's tree. They would buzz down, peruse the flowers, then go back to the branch to rest. My neighbor cut down that tree in the Spring. So I don't know where they rest now. I have been considering getting or making one of those little hummingbird swings but not sure where I would put it.

Our hummers have a favorite branch, too:

Oh, but they aren't up there to "rest." That branch provides the perfect, unobstructed vantage point to keep watch over "their" territory. As soon as another hummer comes into view... PEW! they take off like a bullet. The winner of the chase then comes back and take a few sips of nectar then it's right back to either that or another good branch, but that one is their favorite. You know, I wonder if they ever considered that they wouldn't need to hog all the flowers if they would stop chasing each other. If they ever took a break, they could afford to share instead of needing to constantly refuel for their next high speed aerial show down!

You can hang the swing anywhere that gives them a good view of the yard I think. They like to be able to see the interlopers haha.

I have lots in my yard, they nest in a huge pine behind the house. I have various agastaches that they love but they also love the feeders, have 4 in back and 2 out front that are filled every 3 or 4 days. If you're getting feeders to attract them get the kind with a perch around the bottom, the females will often sit and drink so you'll be able to see them better, sometimes several to a single feeder.

Liz lives in a humminbird hot spot.

You really must live in a hummer hotspot Liz! I have almost never seen them be on such peaceful terms as to sit and use the same feeder at the same time without going on the offensive with each other! And they nest in your yard! How neat is that!

Not the best pic (through the window) and only a single female this time, noticed her when I was sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast the other morning. The most I've seen on a single feeder has been 3 at the same time and never side by side.

Zach, I've never seen the nests so I'm just assuming. There's a massive pine right out back that I think they use. One of my old bosses who retired to Arizona posted a pic on Facebook of a nest he found by accident--was getting buzzed by the mom as he was trying to clean up the yard--luckily saw it before he touched the shrub it was in. If I can find the pic I'll post it here, so cute and so tiny....

Liz thats gorgeous, and I can see why you are a "hummer hotspot." I would be willing to bet you have them nesting somewhere around there!

I went onto Facebook and to Chuck's pics (with his permission for the hummingbird pics) and grabbed several to share. These were taken between Feb 24th and March 25th this spring at wherever he lives in Arizona....

Is that a cool series or what? I can't believe most are so clear, mom had to be buzzing his head to be that close.....

Thats an awesome little series! How fortunate he got the opportunity to see that and get it on film!

Wow! What great pictures, Zach! I love them! I especially like the ones with the bee balm and the agastache, where the body is in perfect focus, and the wings have just the right amount of blur, indicating movement, but still "solid" looking. Do you remember what your shutter speed was for them? Do you keep a shutter speed override, or leave it in auto and hope for the best? The depth of field is also as good as it gets. I'm really impressed. I might have to get some hummer friendly plants next spring, so I can start playing.

Stace, for birds I typically shoot in aperture priority (Av) because they are constantly moving in and out of different lighting scenarios (and usually in a hurry). Yesterday I was switching between landscape and wildlife shots and I kept forgetting to take it off of manual. I now have a bunch of curve billed thrasher and gila woodpecker shots that are completely black now haha. It does get me into trouble with black birds, though because the camera meters off of the dark feathers. For example, most of the shots of the Chihuahuan ravens I got yesterday have completely blown out backgrounds.

Anyhow, I like to set it to 7.1. That gives me a decent depth of field and also allows for a little bit faster shutter speed. To be perfectly fair, my camera card is full of shots of penstemons and agastaches with blurs of greenish-brown right in the center haha.

That's funny! Thanks for the info. My nemesis as far as forgetting to reset is ISO. I'll often max it out in indoor settings where the subject is too far away for the flash to be effective, or the flash would be rude. Next thing you know I've got a series of excessively grainy pictures that I don't catch until after it's too late. sigh. :)

Yup, the "too late" happens all the time, typically after I've shot some would be really great shots. Then after the bird or animal has moved far out of my reach I go back through the pictures and lo-and behold, my shutter speed was way too low and its blurry or blown out or it was way too high and it completely black.

That doesn't bother near as much as the "I probably won't need my camera at work today" (or whatever else I'm doing), and then I'll see something really great and kick myself for not having brought it with me. Like the snapping turtle I saw today...

I still have a hummingbird hanging around. I still have quite a few food sources in bloom for him, agastache, black and blue salvia, and redbirds in a tree. I was tempted to put up a feeder for him but then I decided that I don't want to encourage him to stay. While I do love seeing him, it's really time for him to migrate.

I do believe that some 80% of the humming birds diet is insects so the presence or absence of that food source is probably more indicative of whether or not they hang around than nectar. Also, broad tailed hummers are a species of high mountains, breeding at elevations in the Rockies that are probably colder in July when they are nesting than we are experiencing right now at the end of September.

Your little friend will venture south when hes ready, probably regardless of if you put out a feeder for him. Id go ahead and put the feeder out and enjoy him while hes here, its going to be a long, hummerless winter.

Says the guy headed to Arizona... :) No fair rubbing it in that winter is coming!

Thanks Zach. That makes sense. He was here again today. I'll make him some food and put it out tomorrow so I can watch him for the last few days. My friend sent me a link to this "hummer enthusiast" headgear:

http://www.9news.com/mobile/article/news/local/next/heres-how-to-get-up-close-and-personal-with-hummingbirds/73-479167101

The last place I stayed on my fall trip this year was a house on top of a hill just east of Buena Vista at a little over 9,000'. When I got there about two weeks ago now, I decided to put out the little feeder I take with me, not really expecting to see any hummers in mid-September at that altitude, but in the five days I was there I did have a couple broad tails show up for dinner! I think I probably would have seen more but it was really windy for the four "full" days I was there. There were virtually no flowers left up there, I just saw a couple Indian Paintbrush still blooming--as Zach said, they eat way more than just nectar. I didn't see any here at home this year, but on my trip I had them at Cortez, at Red Valley in the FAR northeast corner of ARIZONA (Zach!), and then at the BV house. I love to sit and watch them!

Skybird

"Winter is coming" Stace! I'm pretty sure the Ice King and his army of frozen zombies aren't making it to Arizona. I have my thermostat set to 83º and it feels refreshing. Its definitely warm. (P.s. if Im the only here who watches Game of Thrones, then that refrence made no sense).

Glad you get to enjoy your hummer for the next few days at least! Mom said she hasn't seen them since early September. The butterflies on the other hand have completely overtaken the yard, when I was loading my stuff onto theoving truck the other day they were swarming me. This years Painted Lady migration was a sight to behold! And so is that face shield feeder, wow thats something else! I omce heard about a lady who was so desperate to attract them she would hang up red sheets around her yard, mever found out if it worked or not...

Those little hummers are tough! They also have a cool feature known as "torpor" that allows them to baisically "hibernate" for short periods to prevent starving and freezing to death when the mercury drops.

I love watching the hummingbirds, too. I did see one when we got to our house down here, and when we came down a couple weeks ago to look at houses we saw a bunch. Now I have to remember where I packed my feeder away at so I can hang it up! Next time your down this way Slybird, just make the extra 3-4 hour trip down to the west side of Phoenix and say hello! Well. If you don't want to, yoi should at least make it to Petrified Fortest N.P. and the Painted Desert up near Holbrook in the N.E. part of the state. That place is incredible!

There are construction workers often near my flower corner garden - new house being built in that alfalfa field and their electricity source is near the garden.

The Painted Lady population in the flowers was crazy!

ZachS said: "This years Painted Lady migration was a sight to behold!"

Made me feel like some kind of magician ت.

Steve