August 1, 2021
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Ruby-throated Hummingbird 001
The hummingbirds have been especially active at the feeders this week. Karla and I have had fun watching them. Their fast movements and constant chasing of each other are always fascinating.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 002
Addie, one of our granddaughters made this bird house. Surrounded by clematis it makes for a nice scene to photograph the hummingbirds. Do you see the hummingbird in the top right?
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 003
It is hard to tell the difference between immature males and females but I believe this one is a female. They have the whiter feathers under their neck.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 004
This one could be immature male or female as it does have some darker feathers below the neck. They have the most beautiful iridescent green feathers on their back and top of their head.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 005
It just amazes me that they can beat their wings 50 times per second and have a heart rate of around 1,000 times per minute. This photo was taken at about 1/1000 of a second and still didn't stop its wings.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 006
You would think that the mature male would have a red neck all the time but without any reflection from sunlight its feathers under its neck are very dark. That is because these feathers do not contain any red color pigments like the male cardinal, which is red all the time.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 007
But in the sun, they reflect light and the throat is a radiant ruby red. The feathers have to be at the right angle to reflect the light. I watched as two were fighting and when the one looked right at me the feathers were black and suddenly he puffed them up and they were ruby red reflecting the sunlight.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 008
I was fortunate to catch a photo of this one as it hovered by the feeder.