Anthony Lujan Photography Blog

One of my true loves are the hummingbirds. It all started with my Grandma Rosie. I remember when I was a young boy we used to visit her in New Mexico.  She used to have hummingbird feeders lined up on the patio. When the hummingbirds migrates my Grandma used to exchanged the sugar water 3 to 4 times a day! Today my Grandfather Charlie still has them up and still feeding them.

I wanted to remember this and also wanted to share the joy with my other Grandma Nada. I started out with one feeder then grew to 10 feeders in her backyard. I tell you, it’s something else to see them come one by one. Before you knew it we had over 20 hummingbirds in the backyard.

Not all of these hummingbirds are from my Grandma Nada’s backyard but a lot of them are.

I used to sit in the backyard and loved seeing them fly and almost hit me.

I used to grab my tripod and camera and sit outside for hours.

We used to get at least 6 different type of hummingbirds. The Anna, Allen, Rufous, Ruby Throated, Broad-Tailed and Black-chinned.

Just to watch these tiny birds fly, dive and swoop down was an amazing sight.

Every where I went I seemed to find a hummingbird. Soon my sister called me the hummingbird whisper.

Listen to what a Rufous Hummingbird sounds like

Listen to what a Anna Hummingbird sounds like

Listen to what a Black-Chinned Hummingbird sounds like

If I had my wish it would be for everyone to get their own feeders. Here’s an easy recipe for the hummingbird nectar.

Hummingbird Nectar Recipe

1 part sugar/4 parts water

Boil the water first, then measure and add sugar, at the rate of 1/4 cup of sugar to 1 cup of water.

Let cool and store excess in refrigerator until ready to use.

Do not add food coloring, honey (which ferments), or artificial sweetener, which has no nutritional value.

You will need to clean your feeder about once a week. According to the National Audubon Society, this should be done by rinsing with one part white vinegar to four parts water. If the feeder is dirty, try adding a few grains of dry rice to the vinegar solution to help scrub it clean. Follow the vinegar wash by rinsing three times with clear, warm water before refilling with sugar solution.

Tips on photographing hummingbirds:

A Warning to the Beginner

Photographing hummingbirds is among the most challenging of all nature photography. These birds are small, fast, and often difficult to locate. But the rewards are immense.

Some Tips

For those of you up to the challenge of trying to capture hummingbirds, here are a few tips to consider when attempting to capture hummingbirds:

• Use a fast shutter speed to reduce blurring. Balance this as best possible with the use of a small aperature to allow for rapid positional changes of the bird in flight.
• Use a fast speed to give you more flexibility with shutter speed and aperature settings. Consider using a flash for the same reason (even during the day) but be aware of the effects this may have on the bird’s comfort and behavior (do not use at too close a range).
• Experiment with continuous shooting or exposure bracketing options if your camera offers those features.
• Most of all use a tripod. While these birds fly fast you need to be steady for most detail.

How long do hummingbirds live?

There’s not a lot of data to work with, but most experts think the average lifespan of a hummer is 3 or 4 years. The record was a female Broad-tailed, banded as an adult in Colorado in 1976, then recaptured in the same location in 1987, which would have made her at least 12 years old.

How fast do hummingbird hearts beat?

A rate of 1260 beats per minute was measured in a Blue-throated Hummingbird. In torpid hummingbirds, the heart rate can drop to 50-180 per minute.

How fast do hummingbird wings beat?

It depends on the size of the bird. The largest, the Giant Hummingbird, has a wingbeat rate of 10-15 per second. The fastest recorded rate was about 80 per second, on a tiny Amethyst Woodstar, and the slightly smaller Bee Hummingbird – the world’s smallest bird – may have an even faster rate. Common small North American hummers like the Ruby-throated and Rufous average around 53 per second in normal flight.

My heart and memories are full of many great moments of both my Grandma’s and I watching and listening to these different species of hummingbirds. I really hoped you enjoyed seeing my little beautiful loves and learned a few insights to these magical creatures called hummingbirds.

*in memory of my Grandmother Rosie and Grandmother Nada

Anthony Lujan Photography
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