Birds

Hummingbird in the Backyard

#FunWithCamera. I was at the back window even before my lovely spouse finished, "Quick, There's a hummingbird on the flowers". The bird wasn't there long but i did get an image of the #hummingbird enjoying our #flowers of the #summer. i think it is a female Magenta-throated Woodstar hummingbird and I am happy i had camera close enough to capture this moment.

Broad-Tailed Hummingbird

Fortunate to be invited to shoot hummingbirds at a local photographers home. He had a nice set up with 3-4 strobe flash units and a feeder. Enjoyable to watch and lucky to get a shot

Immature Rufous Hummingbird

Immature Rufous. Had another great time shooting Hummingbirds just outside of Fort Collins. I am a long way from an expert but i believe this is a Rufous hummingbird but it isn't fully mature yet. The Immature males have a rusty washed sides and a spot coming in on their throat

Hummmmmmmmm

Hummmmmm. This photo is of a male Broad-tailed hummingbird. I was lucky enough to be included in a photo shoot of these hummingbirds. My friends had a nice set up where the hummingbirds congregated that included flash units. these birds are amazing to watch fly around and hover like they do. A very nice way to spend a morning

Attack!

Attack! This is a photo of the female broad-tailed hummingbird. The most obvious feature is the male's throat is red or burgundy and the female is not. I was lucky to capture this bird looking down with her feet partially extended. They move so fast it is difficult to focus on them and to shoot them before they move out of the frame. This was taken at a friends house near Fort Collins, CO with a nice set up including feeders and flash

Dancing Fool

Dancing Fool. The Sandhill Crane migration thru Kearney Nebraska happens over a short window in the spring. These are beautiful birds that are slightly over 3 feet in height and about 5-7 feet in wing span. They have a bright red top which is a factor of " behavioral stimulation". There are many thousands of birds that go out to the fields during the day and spend the evenings at the Platte River. They "dance" as part of their mating efforts and it looks like they are really enjoying themselves

The Starting Line

The Starting Line. The Great Egret, a big beatiful white bird, was skipping along the water of the Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge. This area had a number of birds. I liked how the sun was shining on the wings and you can see the bird splashing up water as he is moving along.

Ding Darling NWR-11-Feb1901

Fluffing Up For The Day

Fluffing Up For the Day

Getting Up For Breakfast

This brown pelican was sitting very still in the water and then quickly moved after food, spalshing into the water. It was taken at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge

Rising

Rising. This is a Tricolored Heron at Ding Darling NWR in Florida shortly after sunrise. A nice calm morning created a beautiful reflection on take off for this bird.

Takeoff

Takeoff. At the Ding Darling NWR, this was the first Tri-Color Heron i saw. It was gliding on the water looking for food. The water was still which allowed for a nice reflection. A beautiful bird that decided there wasn't anything left to look at and took off.

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White Ibis at Ding Darline NWF

A beautiful wildlife refuge on Sanibel Island is called the Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge. I was lucky to spend a couple of mornings there. I captured this adult White Ibis in the area

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Watching The Nest

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Family Gathering

Family Gathering-May10--9312

A couple

The Sand Hill Migration thru central Nebraska is an Amazing event. Hundreds of thousands of sand hill cranes converge at Rowe Sanctuary on the Platt River near Kearney, Nebraska. The Sand Hill Cranes are known for their joyous dance. They are jumping, bobbing, flopping, turning, throwing sticks. Very fun to watch.

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Sand Hill Cranes Rowe Sanctuary-100403-6394

Sand Hill Cranes Rowe Sanctuary-100403-6273