I heard him before I saw him — that metallic trill that announces the arrival of a male Broad-tailed Hummingbird. I had left the camera in the car and we were just walking along the upper branch of the Brush Creek road near Crested Butte, CO, checking out the possibilities for wildflower photography.
I tuned-in to the sound and soon found him repeatedly climbing high into the sky and then diving toward the ground in the distinctive Broad-tailed courtship display. I knew he must have a perch nearby where he rested between flights to feed, court, or defend his territory from other hummingbirds. After I located his perch, I went back to the car, got the camera and tripod, and set up nearby.
Each time he flew, I moved the tripod a bit closer to his perch. When he returned, I remained as motionless as possible and snapped off a few photos. Eventually, I got as close as I felt I could without altering his behavior. I took several more images before discretely leaving. This was my favorite of those images.
Nikon D7100 (in cropped mode), Nikon 80-400 mm f/4.5-5.6G lens (800 mm full-frame equivalent)
This entry was posted on Friday, July 18th, 2014 and is filed under Uncategorized. Both comments and pings are currently closed.