We were recently graced with a few days of much needed rain in the Raleigh area. It’s amazing how nature truly comes alive once you have water. You also don’t notice how quiet things become during dry spells. Birds become less active, insects disappear, and flowers begin to wilt. When the rain comes, it’s almost as if the pent-up activity you lost comes bursting back to life. This activity has taken the form of some very playful hummingbirds. Naturally, all of that motion requires ample nourishment, which gave me the chance to get some fun candid photos of this juvenile Ruby-throated Hummingbird getting his lunch. Growing up in New England, we were always hunting for hummingbirds, but now it seems they’re all around — a nice change from those childhood days of hunting for them.
They hold a very fond place in my heart. I have many warm memories of my grandfather’s hummingbird feeder on Cape Cod, full of cherry-red syrup and ringed with empty 2-liter bottles to keep unwanted squirrels from raiding the bird seed or sugar water.
Hummingbirds are truly majestic birds that toe the line of fantasy with their long tongues or unbelievably fast wingbeats. If you sit and watch them go about their business for long, you may even be lucky enough to watch them perch on a nearby tree and pause all of their activity. It always reminds me that no matter how fast life is going, if a hummingbird can stop for a second, then so can you.
Behind the lens specs
“Next Steps” (Cover Photo): f/8.0 · 1/1250s · ISO 5000
“Taking a Sip”: f/8.0 · 1/1250s · ISO 5000
Shot on Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II + Olympus 100-400mm f/5.0-6.3
Checkout the whole album in the Birding Gallery