Images West Photography: Anna's Hummingbird

Showing posts with label Anna's Hummingbird. Show all posts

Saturday, April 30, 2022

Friday Hummingbirds

Here are a few photos of our backyard hummingbirds from Firday, April 29. We have several pairs of both the Anna's and the Rufous hummingbirds coming in to the feeders, and it's becoming a challenge to keep the feeders full; it's been a relatively cold spring, and very few native flowers have blossomed yet, so food is a bit scarce for these little guys.

Female Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus), Gabriola, BC

Male Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna), Gabriola, BC

Female Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna), Gabriola, BC

Sunday, April 17, 2022

Hummingbirds - Spring 2022

Spring has arrived in the Gulf Islands, and the colourful Rufous hummingbirds (Selasphorus rufus) have arrived to join our over-wintering Annas's hummingbirds (Calypte anna).

I have been trying out the new Olympus M.Zuiko 150-400mm f4.5 + 1.25 TC lens mounted on an E-M1x body alongside the excellent Sony A1 with the FE 200-600mm f5.6-6.3 zoom. It would be a more fair comparison if I had the new OM-1 camera for the comparison, but they are still impossible to find in Canada.

Here are a few photos from the past couple of weeks:

Rufous Hummingbird, Olympus E-M1X and 150-400mm f4.5, 500mm @ f5.6

Rufous Hummingbird, Olympus E-M1X and 150-400mm f4.5, 400mm @ f4.5

Anna's Hummingbird, Olympus E-M1X and 150-400mm f4.5, 400mm @ f4.5

Rufous Hummingbird, Sony A1 and 200-600mm f5.6-6.3, 600mm @ f7.1

So far, I would give the Olympus lens a slight edge in speed, sharpness and close focusing ability, while the Sony A1's bird eye AF is superior to that of the Olympus E-M1X. I'm hoping the OM-1 will match the A1 in that department.

Wednesday, December 23, 2020

Anna's Hummingbirds (Calypte anna)

Gabriola Island saw its first snowfall of the year on Monday, which just happened to also be the first day of winter. Our resident Anna's Hummingbirds weren't too happy, and stayed close to their feeders, which did allow for some great opportunities to photograph them without disturbing them.

The hardy little. Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna) is a year-round resident in the coastal regions of southwest British Columbia, and in 2017 it was voted as the official bird of the city of Vancouver.

This little hummingbird was once found only in southern California and the Baja Peninsula. But ornithologists have documented the expansion of its range since the 1930s. Today, you’ll find it in locales as far north as British Columbia and as far east as Texas. Anna’s Hummingbirds have been found to colonize new locations, even cold ones, based on the availability of flowery landscaping and nectar feeders.

Anna’s can cope with our cold winter weather by entering a state of torpor. A hummingbird in torpor can drop its body temperature from about 40°C to about 9°C and reduce its respiration rate from 245 breaths per minute to 6. It can even suspend its breathing for up to five minutes. The metabolic rate of an Anna’s during torpor can be 300 times lower than when in flight. The savings are significant; they can help a hummingbird sleep through a severe weather period.

All images were captured using an Olympus OM-D E-M1X camera with the M.Zuiko Digital 40-150mm f2.8 and 300mm f4 IS Pro lenses.