It is spring in Livermore and the neighborhoods are alive with flowers and fruit trees in bloom and with birds and bees attracted by the blossoms. Warm, sunny days make for good opportunities to photograph the birds and the bees, and here are some of my favorite photos:
Rufous Hummingbird and Anna’s Hummingbird at our feeder. Anna’s Hummingbirds are here year-round, but Rufous Hummingbirds show up for only a couple weeks per year as they migrate to and from the Pacific Northwest.Hummingbirds contesting access to the feeder. The Anna’s in particular can be kind of turfy.Anna’s Hummingbird near feeder. Bird shots are difficult because they move quickly and in unexpected directions, but at least hummingbirds hover for short lengths of time.Anna’s Hummingbird perched on a twig in our orange tree.Rufous Hummingbird perched in orange tree.Rufous Hummingbird at feeder. Shutter speed was 1/1000 sec or faster, but not fast enough to keep the wings in focus.Bush tit eating aphids from rose buds. These small, quick birds came in flocks to clean up the aphids, and they move around so abruptly in the rose bushes that I was lucky to get a clear shot.Honeybee on an orange blossom. The whole tree is in bloom, and honeybees, wild bees, and even hummingbirds serve as pollinators.Black and yellow wild bee (some kind of bumblebee?) on orange blossom.Honeybee on lavender in our front yard.
Semi-technical details: I shot all of these photos from about 8-12 feet away with a handheld Canon R7 and Canon 100-500mm zoom lens. Post-processing consisted of cropping each photo by up to 80% of the original image size. The original image resolution allowed for a reasonably good picture even after severe cropping and enlargement.
I’m amazed that these shots are from 8 to 12 ft and handheld and still clear. Also, it looks like the only way to get a sharp image of wings is to catch them at the end of a stroke. Meanwhile, the photos are fascinating.
I’m amazed that these shots are from 8 to 12 ft and handheld and still clear. Also, it looks like the only way to get a sharp image of wings is to catch them at the end of a stroke. Meanwhile, the photos are fascinating.