Let the Beauty of what you Love be what you Do...
~Rumi

Monday, June 28, 2010

Hummingbird Studies

Hummingbird Photography & Fun Facts~


Hummingbirds are native to North & South America. Their average speed is 20-30 miles per hour, and some migratory species fly up to 500 miles non-stop!


They are the smallest bird, yet their brain comprises 4% of their body weight, hence they have much bigger brains than their larger counterparts.


Their little hearts can beat up to 1260 times per minute. Surprisingly... they do sit still sometimes, just not for long!


Sadly, the majority of hummingbirds don't make it past the first year of their life... but if they do, their average lifespan is 4 to 5 years, though some live up to ten years.


There is an estimated 325-340 species of hummingbirds. They are a fascinating bird... fun to watch, and challenging to photograph!


Equipment used: Nikon D80 w/ 18-135 lens & iPhoto for basic cropping. Pictures taken to get about 10 good shots: approximately 140.

8 comments:

Barb said...

Wonderful, Becky! You are lucky to get such great shots, even if you had to take a "few"! I hear them in the mountains now, whiring while I'm gardening, but they never seem to stop long enough for photo op!

Becky said...

Fabulous pictures ! I love seeing what people are doing for photography projects and the end results, which are always a treat on your channel here. Well done Beck :-)

KClark Photography said...

LoL only 140? Wonderful images.

Wanda..... said...

You get much better photos than I do Becky. Love that last one! Once while walking with my g/daughter, a hummingbird flew over and dropped a surprise on my shoulder...I'm just glad it was a tiny bird's droppings!

♥...Wanda

Annie Coe said...

Great photos and thank you for the fun facts. I love hummers so.
xoxo

marianne said...

great photos becky! dontcha love digital, which makes it so much easier to take 140 to get 4! :) btw, you asked about transfers to metal on one of my blog posts- if you email me at mksarts@msn.com i will send info- couldn't find an email address for you.

Pat said...

These are GREAT shots! They are so hard to capture because they "dart" in and out around the feeder. You have to be so fast with the button!

There are 18 different species of hummingbirds that come to AZ. We winter there - I've seen a few of the species. What lovely little birds!

clairz said...

I had to laugh when I saw the number of shots you had taken. I stood on a step stool recently in front of my hummingbird feeder and took sixty shots. Ended up with one that I'm really proud of, and a few more that were in focus.

These are wonderful shots. Love that the flowers are in them.