Hummingbird Photography

Anna's Hummingbird (Calypso Anna)

Costa's Hummingbird

(Calypso Costae)

I’ve had a chance recently to work with the Photo-trap I bought last fall. I decided to try to get some hummingbird photos since we have had a large population of several species lately. Anna’s Hummingbirds are here all winter as well as spring and fall – they seem to leave only for the hot summer months. Costa’s are seen occasionally in winter but are more numerous during migration. We have Black-chinned all the summer (and they have arrived already). Rufous and Calliope are seen occasionally during migration. We have had a Broad-billed here only a few times. 

There is definitely a learning curve with the equipment, but I think once I get it figured out it will be fun to use on various projects. I probably deleted a hundred pictures from the first couple evenings and kept several. Below are two that I liked the best (although there is room for improvement!).


Bat Drinking

Nectar Bat Feeding

In early October I went down to Amado, AZ to spend some time with Bill Forbes – I purchased one of his Photo-Trap camera triggers and wanted to learn to use it. Bill has a regular outdoor studio set up around his house along with a guest cabin! I spent the evening listening to Bill and asking questions about this new piece of equipment. At dusk I set my camera up on one of his ponds where, he assured me, bats would come to drink. The weather was just starting to cool down and bat activity was on the decline. We needed to make several adjustments to the equipment and the picture above is the only one that I got which I like very well. It would be better if the bat were over to the right a little bit, giving it room to “fly” into the picture, but I will take what I can get!


Once the bats slowed way down at the pool, Bill got out an agave flower that he had managed to find which was still in the fairly early stages of opening. Once again, the lateness of the season was a hindrance. Fortunately, Bill has several hummingbird feeders that he fills every evening. Nectar-eating bats come and drain 3 quart feeders every night in season. Bill said they were still coming…


We set up the flower close to the hummingbird feeders and Bill doused it liberally with sugar-water from a squirt bottle. We got the flashes and the camera trigger adjusted and prefocused on the flower. Now to wait. It wasn’t too long before the flashes went off! Did I get the shot? We waited a little more before approaching and checking the pictures on the back of the camera. Sure enough, there were bats in the frame, but they were out of focus. Adjustments were made, and we waited a while longer. More flashes! Check the camera… good focus. Now, off the bed and let the camera work until the batteries run out (several hours).


In the morning, I found hundreds of pictures of nectar bats feeding on the flowers/sugar-water! Here is one of my favorites:


We spent some time in the morning working on flying insect photography but the bugs were uncooperative. I will have to keep trying on my own. Next summer, I hope to get some fantastic shots like the ones Bill has been able to take with this equipment!

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