Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird In My Viewfinder

I finally have male Ruby-throated Hummingbird photos that I am happy with. It’s about time, isn’t it? He isn’t a lifer; I’ve photographed this species before.

This was the first time that my images of this hummingbird species met my standards.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird male in Arkansas – Canon R7, f7.1, 1/250, ISO 1250, Canon 100-500mm at 500mm, natural light

I still struggled with low light, and a few of my photos of this male hummingbird were blurry. But the ones that weren’t? I was happy with them.

I sat outside on my friend Steve Creek’s deck yesterday morning, paying more attention to the hummingbirds than to the other birds coming to his feeders, and it paid off for me.

Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird in July – Canon R7, f7.1, 1/250, ISO 1250, Canon 100-500mm at 500mm, natural light

The ruby-red color of this male’s gorget was stunning at times, especially through the viewfinder, even though the lighting wasn’t that great.

Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird showing his red gorget – Canon R7, f7.1, 1/250, ISO 1250, Canon 100-500mm at 500mm, natural light

This little male Ruby-throated Hummingbird is very territorial. Most of the time, he chases away all males that try to come to the feeder, but he will occasionally allow female or immature birds to feed. But that is not always the case.

He even chases away larger birds that come near his feeder. That’s how territorial he is.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird male with his tongue stuck out – Canon R7, f7.1, 1/250, ISO 1250, Canon 100-500mm at 500mm, natural light

I included this last photo of the male even though his red gorget isn’t showing, because it shows his nearly transparent tongue sticking out.

I used to watch this hummingbird species every year in my garden in Virginia. In fact, I planted flowers just for them. It is wonderful to see them again, and now I get to photograph them too!

Life is good.

Mia

Click here to see more of my hummingbird photos in their galleries.