JRVZ9928, originally uploaded by GvilleRick.

A male cardinal appears to be guarding the back yard. We continue to have a number of different birds visiting as we move into summer. The cardinals chase each other around the yard and the doves continue to coo from the power lines around the area. I haven’t seen the hummingbirds much the last several days and wonder if they are nesting.

JRVZ8716, originally uploaded by GvilleRick.

I posted a photo back in April of a Ruby Throated Hummingbird. I’ve seen a couple more since then but only in the last couple of days have I seen then return regularly. This morning I shot one through the window in the living room and then went out and took several from the front porch. This afternoon I watched for quite a while and got shots from the porch and from behind the feeder. One even swooped down at me when I was adjusting the feeder. This shot was taken this morning. More are available on my Flickr site. Click on the image to jump there.

JRVZ3645, originally uploaded by GvilleRick.

For some time now we have seen male and female cardinals flying around the yard and into the holly outside our front window. The last couple of days I have taken several shots of them but this afternoon I was able to get some shots of the female on the pole holding our hummingbird feeder and this shot as she entered the bush to work on the nest that is inside. Our cat was watching through the window and it drove him crazy. More shots are on my Flickr site.

JRVZ2921, originally uploaded by GvilleRick.

Last night I picked up my camera and was heading out the door to shoot a softball game. I went into the living room and this guy laned on the support for the hummingbird feeder and posed for me. I knew he may not stay long so I shot quickly and didn’t get a chance to check settings very closely so the ISO is set to 1600. I was still pretty pleased with the way the shot came out.

IMGP0867, originally uploaded by GvilleRick.

We had a relaxing day today after the travels of the week. This morning we enjoyed watching the hummingbirds at the feeder in the front yard. We have discovered that hummingbirds are not good a sharing. One bird guards the feeder in the back while another guards the one in the back. Any other birds approaching the feeder are quickly chased off as the bird standing guard swoops down from a perch above the feeder.

This morning we saw as many as five hummingbirds flying around the feeder in the front and the photo above is a rare occasion where three birds shared the feeder. I also uploaded a video to my Flickr site (which you can access by clicking on the photo above) that shows the birds sharing the feeder.

IMGP9474, originally uploaded by GvilleRick.

We put up a new hummingbird feeder in our front garden this afternoon. Within an hour we had a visitor appear. While the birds at the feeder in back are pretty used to me being around and will let me get pretty close to take photos, this guy was pretty cautious and flew away if he sensed any movement. He flies to a nearby tree and guards the feeder. From what I have read it is unusual to have a ruby-throated hummingbird this late in the season in South Carolina.

hbird, originally uploaded by GvilleRick.

I thought I would try something a little different and post a video rather than a photo. I set up my camera on a tripod and let it run for a while. After 5 minutes or so a hummingbird came to the feeder. I clipped the video to get it to 25 seconds. You can hear the chirping just before he appears.

IMGP8758, originally uploaded by GvilleRick.

The hummingbirds were back this afternoon. It was interesting watching the action. I was able o sit close to the feeder and could hear the humming of the wings as the birds flew by. One hummingbird sat on a branch above the feeder and whenever another bird would approach the feeder he would swoop in a chase it away. I have photos on my Flickr page of the bird at the feeder. The photo above shows him guarding what he believes to be his personal feeder.

IMGP8546, originally uploaded by GvilleRick.

About a month ago we saw a hummingbird at a flower in the back driveway. A few days later I saw one in the backyard. I didn’t have a camera handy either time. Over the past month we have seen hummingbirds fly by but I was not able to get a photo. We refilled the feeder earlier this week and this morning I saw a couple of hummingbirds hovering nearby. I got out the camera and waited. After getting a few shots with one lens I switched to the faster DA* 50-135 and got some good shots that worked out well when I cropped them some. Shots include the birds feeding and perched in the tree resting.

IMGP5389, originally uploaded by GvilleRick.

I’ve seen these insects hovering in our butterfly bush lately. It is an odd creature resembling a bumblebee but it feeds like a hummingbird. I shot this photo using my DA* 50-135 with a fast shutter speed so I could see the wings (which are a blur when watching them live.) I also have photos of a female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on my Flickr page.