Wildlife & Related

[Hummer]

Why do most hummingbird feeders have a landing spot? I've never seen a hummingbird land to feed from flowers.

Hummingbirds feed from a perch whenever they can because it's energy efficient. They will drink from a flower using any perch such as an adjacent branch, the plant stalk or the flower petal itself. But most hummingbird flowers are small and don't have nearby branches or big petals for a hummer to perch on so most folks don't see it very often. (I see it every day because we have a lot of hummingbirds). A good hummer flower is one that gives them a chance to relax while they eat high calorie nectar and insect rich food. They are well adapted to hover to feed but smart enough to conserve energy when they can.

Feeders are made with perches because that's what hummingbirds prefer--they can consume more food energy in a shorter time using less energy. Also, because feeder watchers can better view the birds using feeders with perches. A bird that's stationary is easier to see in detail than one that is hovering and moving constantly.

Here's a juvie male Black-chinned in our garden perching on a Mexican Sunflower petal to take nectar and insects. A natural feeder perch.

[Bailey Guns]

Very nice.

[HoneyBadger]

Thanks for the info. We have lots of hummingbirds in this area, but most of their food sources are very small flowers. We have at least two that visit us several times a day and our kids love watching them buzz around. Sometimes they get very close to us and I always instruct HB Jr to stay very still when they do. Last week, one hovered about 2 ft in front of his face for 10-15 seconds while it appeared to check him out. He loved it!

In 2012, when I lived in this same area in CA for a few months, I took a few pretty good pictures in an area just outside my apartment. I'll see if I can dig them up.

[HoneyBadger]

I'm no professional photographer and I am still using a DSLR I purchased back in 2008, but I hope these meet your standards. (Hopefully the forum sizes them properly... they are pretty big photos)








And my personal favorite (Got it printed on canvas and it hangs on the wall by our kitchen):

[Irving]

I saw about 4 or 5 bull elk standing in a field on my way to Loveland today. Just out in the open. They seemed very out of place. Pictures will probably be terrible, but I'll post them when I get home.

[Irving]

Sorry for the photo quality, I was driving. This was on the South side of 402 some where between I-25 and 287, at about 6:40ish am. A bunch of bulls with big full racks was the last thing I was expecting to see right out in the open like that.

[Hummer]

Wow, beautiful photos HoneyBadger! This one really shows the different iridescent colors reflected at different angles to the light.
Anna's Hummingbirds are rare in CO, I've only seen a couple here. But they're year around residents in CA and AZ where I see them every year.

I'm no professional photographer and I am still using a DSLR I purchased back in 2008, but I hope these meet your standards. (Hopefully the forum sizes them properly... they are pretty big photos)








And my personal favorite (Got it printed on canvas and it hangs on the wall by our kitchen):

[Irving]

Updated my post with pictures.

[spyder]

[Bailey Guns]

Wow... You guys are posting some good stuff. Love the h-bird photos and the little ducks and owls. And the elk...doesn't look like where you'd normally think about seeing elk. Good stuff.