Female Black-chinned Hummingbird hovering at a knothole – Nikon D810, f6.3, 1/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
Yesterday while out in the sky island mountains of the West Desert I spotted a female Black-chinned Hummingbird repeatedly checking out a knothole in a tree. This photo shows her long tongue sticking out of her bill.
Female Black-chinned Hummingbird checking out a knothole – Nikon D810, f6.3, 1/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
The hummingbird was quite a distance from me but I took photos of her anyway for documentary purposes. I found her behavior interesting as she hovered in front of the knothole.
Female Black-chinned Hummingbird with her bill in a knothole – Nikon D810, f6.3, 1/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
Then the female Black-chinned Hummingbird would stick her bill inside of the knothole. I had no idea what she was doing but continued to photograph her.
Female Black-chinned Hummingbird with her head in a knothole – Nikon D810, f6.3, 1/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
To my surprise the female Black-chinned Hummingbird stuck her whole head into the knothole. I’ve never seen a hummingbird do this before and it intrigued me because this behavior momentarily left the hummingbird vulnerable to predators since she couldn’t see outside of the knothole.
Adult female Black-chinned Hummingbird with stuff falling off of her bill – Nikon D810, f6.3, 1/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
When the female hummingbird withdrew her head from the knothole bits of something fell off of her bill and for a brief moment there was a clump of stuff stuck to it.
The hummingbird may have been looking into the knothole for insects or she may have been looking for a spiderweb in the hole to use for nesting material. I really have no idea what she was doing with her head stuck in the knothole and won’t presume to to know what she was thinking.
Adult female Black-chinned Hummingbird hovering and showing her tongue – Nikon D810, f6.3, 1/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
The female Black-chinned Hummingbird hovered in front of the knothole for a split second then she flew off into the forest. Later in the morning I saw this behavior a second time but by then the knothole was in the shade and the photos I took lacked the clarity of these images. Whatever the hummingbird was looking for in the knothole is unknown to me but I found her behavior fascinating.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Black-chinned Hummingbird photos plus facts and information about this species.
By the way, I think the shutter on my Nikon D500 has died. I have taken 611,760 photos on that shutter which is a pretty long life. I’m glad I had my D810 with me as a backup or I would have missed out on taking these photos.
I think your hummingbird shots are often among your most impressive pics. This terrific series is a case in point. It seems to me that capturing these quick and busy little guys must be incredibly difficult and you do it regularly. Simply amazing. Thanks Mia.
Wonderful expansion of our understanding and knowledge of these fascinating birds! Thanks!!
I am sorry that your shutter has given up the ghost, but selfishly glad you had a back up.
What a fascinating behaviour to see – and to see twice in a day.
Fascinating shots, Mia — especially the one with her head inside the knothole. She was definitely taking a risk for something important (at least I hope it was important!).
Your shutter has served you (and us! 🙂 ) well, with over half a million photos behind it.
Amazing photos, Mia!
Not only are they great quality, they capture a variety of activity of the hummingbird.
I love observing nature so that aspect appeals greatly to me!
As always, thank you! 🙂