Quote:
Originally Posted by Itsed65
Nice Dave. I love hummingbirds, but right now the way my backyard is setup, my feeder is too close to the wall of the house to get good shots. Upcoming construction hopefully will solve this. For now I will keep following my local kite family.
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I'd love to have a kite family, but I can't complain.
To get shots of hummers off your feeder, set up nearby perches so that they can rest. That'll also give you more flexibility with BGs. You might leave the feeder right where it is and then provide a tempting perch within eye shot. Notice where they're perching now. It's usually relatively close to the feeder, but it might be high in a neighbor's tree. If you've got a bush in the yard, you can break off a branch, strip it of leaves and then have it sitting up above the bush's body and kind of leaning toward the feeder.
I only shoot hummers on feeders if they're rare; otherwise, I try to find where they're perching to rest (in sight of the feeder, almost always) and then shoot them around those positions. They repeat the behaviour over and over and there are constant territorial disputes. Once your figure them out, then bring the wife and kids to observe. They'll think you're a genius.
For the shot of the two fighting for the perch, this was 80-feet or so from a backyard feeder. They had around six perches within that radius, but this seems to be the most popular shot, so I set my tripod up there and got in close.
Multiple feeders increase your chances. Also, be on the lookout for hummers feeding at flowers. When their favored flowers a blooming, they'll come back over and over and over. Those are the very best shots, IMO.
Happy hunting,
Dave