Ruby-throated Hummingbird visiting our honeysuckle

Sometimes to get a photo, you need to do some things that others, especially non-birders, might think are a little strange.  I’m past the stage in my life where I care too much about embarassing myself or anything, but I do wonder at times what people think when I’m out and about and taking photographs.  For example, being hunkered down in a bag blind (it’s just what it sounds like) in a public park like Newton Hills, waiting for a bird to return to a favored perch, but instead having a group of hikers wander by.  What are those folks thinking about the dude with the big camera, sitting under camouflaged cloth in the middle of the forest?  For the most part I ignore other people when I’m out shooting, unless they directly ask me what the heck I’m up to.

It’s a little harder to ignore people when they’re your neighbors!  We built a house near the Big Sioux Recreation Area in Brandon three years ago.  In a new neighborhood without much established vegetation, you don’t get a lot of bird variety in your yard.   However, one thing you can nearly always attract here are Ruby-throated Hummingbirds.  I had a blast doing my own landscaping, trying to plan for the long term and planting to attract birds.  However, for the shorter term, I did plant a lot of things that would be attractive to hummingbirds, including a few honeysuckles.  We have one honeysuckle that has by far surpassed any of our expectations in terms of growth and profuse flowering.   It’s on a small south-facing wall, and with the plant protected from the cold north winds, it continually has blooms from early May through October.   It is also by far the plant in my yard that attracts the most hummingbirds. 

And what does this have to do with strange photography behavior?  Well, this honeysuckle just happens to be in our front yard, right near the front door of our house.  I LOVE trying to take photos of my visiting Hummingbirds, a procedure that for me usually consists of taking about 100 shots to get just that one “right” photo.  That means having alot of patience, and devoting a significant chunk of time, to trying to photograph these guys.  So, I’ll grab a lawn chair, plant myself in a good location near a flowering plant, and patiently wait, camera up and ready to start shooting.

On this day, I planted myself on my front porch, pointed the camera towards the honeysuckle, and waited.  I had several chances, took several photos, but soon noticed a neighbor across the street looking at me a little bit funny.  Perhaps it was the fact that I was sitting on my front porch with my foot-long camera lens seemingly pointed directly towards their front window!   Given the neighbor’s actions, this was one of those situations where I DID feel the need to go over and explain myself!  I’m not completely sure she bought my story, but I’m hoping she checked out my website to prove that yes, this guy across the street is indeed a bird photographer, and not some peeping Tom.

Upon returning to my waiting place, I thought perhaps I’d alter my strategy.  I instead planted a lawn chair in the driveway, and pointed my camera towards my OWN front door.  Within just a few minutes, this male Ruby-throated hummingbird flew in for a quick feeding.  I was only able to grab a handful of frames before he left, but I was pleasantly surprised with the shot.  Not only was I able to capture the male’s beautiful gorget in it’s full red glory (not an easy task when shooting these guys), but the planter and flowers sitting on the front porch next to the front door provided a lovely, pale purple backdrop to the photo.

We’ve been in the house for three years now, and given how many times my neighbors have seen me walking to the park with my big camera and lens, or how many times they’ve seen me out in my yard, I’m hoping they now know what I’m doing, and don’t think I’m spying on them!  I’m convinced some of my neighbors think I’m nuts, but I can handle that, as long as in return, I can occasionally get a photo such as this one.