Month: July 2008

Waiting

Despite spending considerable time trying to get a better shot of a hummingbird, I didn’t manage to get one better than those I got last year.

I guess I could be upset that I wasted several hours, but, truthfully, after two hours at the Y and a half hour walking the dog, I wasn’t up to doing any serious work anyway.

Sitting on the front porch in the sunshine I was reminded just how much activity takes place in the woods across the street. It took me awhile but I finally located this Red-Shafted Flicker

Red-Shafted Flicker

who kept tapping and making very loud calls.

While waiting, I also noticed that a considerable number of wasp visited our prune tree, which seems to host a considerable number of small bugs:

Wasp

Not all the visitors were winged, either, as this yearling was dining on our fuchsia but exited, along with the hummingbird, when I stepped out with my camera:

Yearling deer

Backlit by the setting sun, I remember why I bought these flowers long before I knew they were hummingbird magnets:

Crocosmia

Of course, I also took several hummingbird pictures even if I don’t like any of them quite as much as last year’s pictures:

Hummingbird

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get the best shot of the day, when one bolder than usual hummingbird confronted me, eye-to-eye, not more than an arm’s length away, much too close for my telephoto lens to focus on. Picture or no picture, it provided the highlight of the day.

They’re Back!

The Crocosmia have finally started to bloom, and I’ve been spending much of my extra time, the time I’m not spraying weeds, digging out bamboo, and such, sitting on the front porch waiting for the hummingbirds to return.

Last night I spent a good ten minutes within three feet of one discussing the beautiful weather. Of course, that conversation was only possible because I didn’t have my camera with me.

The little guys don’t sit very long when you are carrying a camera as they seem to be awfully camera shy. I still haven’t figured out if all the shots are of one hummingbird or they are of several different hummingbirds. For instance, is this hummingbird

Hummingbird Sitting

the same hummingbird as this one? If so, why do the colors look so different?

Hummingbird with Wings Thrust Forward

I know from the past that both Anna and Rufous hummingbirds will show up at different times, but I’m not always able to tell the difference, particularly if they are females.

Not that it really makes any difference. I’m fascinated with all of them.

Mellow Yellow

Theler Wetlands in Belfair isn’t nearly as large as Nisqually Wildlife Refuge and doesn’t offer as wide of a variety of birds, but I find myself spending nearly as much time there as I do at Nisqually, despite the fact that it’s nearly twice as far away.

There are certain species that you’re more apt to get a good picture of at Belfair than at Nisqually, the American Goldfinch being one. There are Goldfinch at Nisqually, but not nearly as many thistles along the trail as Belfair does, and the only time I’ve managed to get anything approaching a close-up of a Goldfinch is when they’re stuffing themselves with thistle seeds, like this guy:

American Goldfinch eating thistle

There are lots of butterflies at both places, but for some reason I’m more apt get pictures at Belfair than Nisqually, though neither place is nearly as good as my own garden, but that would mean staying home.

Tiger Swallowtail on Blackberry blossom

The main advantage Belfair has over Nisqually, though, is the garden maintained by Master Gardeners. Though I’d probably prefer a garden with just native plants, they’ve managed to plant a garden that has flowers from spring to fall that seem to thrive without excessive work. I never go to Belfair without taking two cameras, one for birds and one for flowers:

Lily