ruby throated hummingbird

They're all gone now. I haven't seen any at the feeders for three days now. Gone South for the winter. See you next spring!

I spied this hummer and thought, "OMG, what is that? It has such unusual tail!" Then I realized it was just a leaf in front of the hummer.

Ruby Throated Hummingbird hovering near a feeder, backlit by the morning sun.

They are always bickering over the feeders. They don't share a feeder like you see in other areas. This guy had his sips and then went into this tree nearby to keep watch for rivals. He will try to chase off any other hummers that try to feed on it.

This hovering hummer--possibly a young bird hatched just this season--kept an eye on me as I aimed my camera for a shot at the feeder. With the absence of any hint of red on the throat, I'm assuming this is a female.

I have several juvenile hummers coming to the feeders now. They are much less cautious about humans than the adults were. I was standing less than two meters from the feeder when I took this. She was keeping a cautious eye on me, but still stayed for a nice long drink. What elegant, beautiful...

I had to cut several dead branches off a tree near where my hummer feeders are. (They were right over a path and I feared they might break off and cause injury) They were favorite perches for the hummers and good places to grab shots of them. Now I am having a more difficult time getting decent...

She's a beauty.

He was hovering just outside my living room window

Can you overdose on hummer shots? I hope not!

The girls are here, but they must be nesting already. They zoom in from nowhere, take a few sips from the feeder, and zoom away. The only place I can get a bead on them is on the feeder.

Feisty fellow. I saw him harassing woodpeckers, Blue Jays, chickadees, anything that came too close to his favorite branch overlooking his favorite feeder. Here once again nobody's bothering him so he's relaxed and not showing his red chin.

This guy was a bit agitated with me as I was standing too close to the feeder for his liking.

Not showing his red gorget. As I've said before, on the males I see here at least, most of the time it shows as dark or black. They can turn it on or off voluntarily, and usually only flash it when a rival shows up.

Also tough to ignore these little gems, but they are here throughout the summer so I hope to get lots of shots of them.

Tried whenever I had a chance this summer to get a good "frozen wingbeat" shot if a hummer but it never happened. Now they are all gone south. Maybe next year.

Female Ruby Throated Hummingbird. They will disappear South any time now. All the mature males are already gone, and I have noticed a sharp drop off in activity the last two days from the remaining hummers. As always, I'm going to miss these remarkable little birds.

Watching his feeder in case he has to chase off other hummers trying to use it.

Relaxed on a rainy day, and not showing his ruby gorget

Ruby Throated Hummingbird. This is always an exciting time of year when all the migratory birds start appearing. The Hummers always appear within a few days either side of Canadian Mother's Day. This guy was nice enough to fan his tail feathers as I tried for a shot.

Ruby Throated Hummingbird directly overhead.

Pretty sure this is a female because of the clear clean throat. No stripes or dark feathers.

Immature male.

Another juvenile male as evidenced by the dark feathers starting to appear on his throat.. Taking as many shots of these wonderful birds while I can. Before you know it, they will be gone for the season.