Birding in Maine» hummingbirds

Fight of the Hummingbirds

John Briggs — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 18:31:11 +0000

While most of the birds that visit our backyards only defend a breeding territory, Hummingbirds are one of the few birds that will defend a food source. Just about anywhere that a Hummingbird finds food, it will fight to defend it even along its migration route to Central America.

The long drawn-out territorial fights can sometimes lead to injury or death, either from exhaustion or from the fighting techniques used by the aggressor. These delicate little birds will sometimes attack larger birds, such as Cardinals and even Crows.

Bird Photography: Hummingbirds Fighting

Wednesday was a beautiful day featuring bright blue skies and cool temperatures. I cleaned and refilled our ten Hummingbird nectar feeders and took them outside to hang them back up. Once back inside the house, I watched the Hummers fill themselves with fresh nectar. All seemed to be happy with four female and five male Hummingbirds divvying up the feeders among themselves.

Suddenly, a male came streaking through the air and knocked another male from its perch on one of the feeders. The aggressor then made himself comfortable on the feeder hanger and began to preen. I quickly grabbed my camera and went to my favorite spot for photographing Hummingbirds, our bedroom window.

It wasn’t long and another male came by the feeder and the fight was on! Twirling, chattering and tumbling end-over-end in mid air, the pair fell to the ground. As they lay there in the grass, the male Hummingbirds used their bills just like they were swords. It wasn’t long until the dominant male had the other male flat on the ground, standing on top of it and stomping and clawing at the poor soul.

I couldn’t believe that this was happening within a few feet of where I stood and well within range to get photos of the altercation, and even video footage. I snapped away as if there were no tomorrow, hoping that my camera setting were close enough for at least half decent captures.

There were two separate fights between these two Hummingbirds. The first lasted about 30 seconds, and once the aggressor finished stomping the crap out of the other bird, they both flew away. The second fight lasted much longer. This time, the aggressor stomped and clawed at the other for about a minute and a half. I began to worry as the Hummingbird that was laying flat on its back stopped moving.

I thought about intervening, but just left nature take its course. Finally, the aggressor flew away, but the poor bird laying on the ground looked like it was dead. I slowly walked toward the motionless bird, quietly asking “Are you okay little fella?” When I was about six feet away, I noticed some movement and I stopped and watched the Hummingbird. Suddenly, with a chatter, the bird flew up into a nearby maple tree where it began preening its ruffled feathers.

I’ve watched Hummingbirds fight in mid air and tumble around on the feeders, but I have never witnessed these birds driving each other into the ground. I was completely awe stricken, with emotions ranging from wonder to worry thrown into the mix. I just couldn’t grasp the fact that these little jewels could be so violent.

Enjoy the photos and video from this incredible encounter, which I call the Fight of the Hummingbirds.

The following photos were taken with a Canon 7D and a Canon 400mm f/4 L IS lens. Simply click one of the thumbnails below for a full-sized view, and then use your arrow key to navigate through the rest of the photos. ©2011 John Briggs Photography | All Rights Reserved

The following video shows the aggressive Hummingbird giving the other a good stomping and then both flying away. I have other video clips showing the stomping and clawing in greater detail, which I will post on my Google+ page sometime this weekend.

Dimension: 560×480 | Video bit rate: 1000Kbps | length: 17 seconds
Playback: Click Play Button | Broadband Connection Recommended
Video: Fight of the Hummingbirds | ©2011 John Briggs Photography

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4j9f7bbFe4

Happy birding!

World Bird Wednesday

Photo of the Day: Hummingbird Elegance

John Briggs — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 13:10:15 +0000

The elegance of a hummingbird is amazing and wonderful to watch. These “flying jewels” are endlessly fascinating because of their iridescent beauty, gracefulness and unique physical qualities. I never tire from watching these gems. Occasionally, I get the opportunity to study our Ruby-throated Hummingbirds up close and personal.

Bird Photography: Ruby-throated Hummingbird

I watched this male Ruby-throated Hummingbird preen while on a branch near our feeding station. He seemed completely oblivious to my presence as I was only three or four feet away. Lucky enough to have my camera in hand, I captured this photo of the hummingbird preening and it’s gorget and head showing its beautiful iridescent colors.

Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird preening

Happy birding!

World Bird Wednesday

Photo of the Day: Flaming Gorget

John Briggs — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 15:38:53 +0000

The right time, right place, right angle, right exposure and a lot of patience are all required to capture the full brilliance of a Hummingbird’s gorget. The gorget is the brilliantly colored area on the throat of a male Hummingbird and is a result of iridescence and not color pigments. *The throat feathers on a male Hummingbird contain very thin, film-like layers of platelets, set like tiles in a mosaic against a background that is dark. Light waves reflect and refract off the mosaic and creates the colors that you see [Bird Note]. Changes in the angles from which light strikes the gorget give the effect of different colors. When sunlight is not striking the gorget at the right angle the feathers will appear all black.

Bird Photography: Ruby-throated Hummingbird Gorget

These photos were difficult to capture because the light had to be just right, the angle at which I was situated had to be just right and, of course, the Hummingbird had to cooperate. Over a period of two days, and filling a 16gb CF card with photos of this bird, I was left with the following captures that shows the beautiful flaming gorget of the male Ruby-throated Hummingbird.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird Flaming Gorget

*Bob Sundstrom. (March 2010). Why a Gorget Glitters
Transcript-631. In Bird Note. Retrieved June 29, 2011, from
http://www.birdnote.org/birdnote-transcript.cfm?id=654.

Happy birding!

World Bird Wednesday

Photo of the Day: Hovering Hummingbird

John Briggs — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 17:49:59 +0000

I am hoping that you are not getting tired of the Hummingbird photos. There are so many around this year, and because of this, it gives me a chance to hone in on my in-flight photos. The female Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have been more or less absent from the nectar feeders, leading me to believe they are on their nests tending to young.

Bird Photography: Hovering Ruby-throated Hummingbird

This photo was captured while was I was standing on our back deck. The male Ruby-throated Hummingbird zipped down from a perch in a maple tree and hovered in front of me, apparently checking me out. I slowly raised my camera and fired off three quick shots before he flew away. I actually thought that I missed focus and was going to delete the photos in-camera. After closer examination, one looked like I should check it out on my computer. After doing so, I was glad I did not delete it. The background is not busy, the light is awesome, and the Hummingbird itself is nearly tack sharp.

Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Happy birding!

Nature’s Jewel: Ruby-throated Hummingbird

John Briggs — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 13:48:37 +0000

Winged Jewel

With wings spun of silver and hearts of gold,
These tiny creatures our hearts behold.
With angelic features and colors so bright,
Make even the heaviest heart seem light.
The magical way they flit through the sky,
They appear, then vanish in the blink of an eye.
They’re sending a message for us to retrieve,
Anything’s possible for those who believe!

Christopher Griffiths

Bird Photography: Ruby-throated Hummingbird

How can you not love them? Nature’s tiny jewels flitting here and there in the blink of an eye. Wing-beats so fast that it takes a high speed camera to record the amazing 53 beats per second! During the time of Columbus, the Taino Native Americans called them “a peaceful bird that will defend their territory with the heart of an Eagle.” The fragile beauty of nature, a beauty that we should not allow to fade.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird (male)

Happy birding!

World Bird Wednesday