HomeBack The Howland Rufous Hummingbird Page

Page by Royce
Last update: $Date: 2003/02/11 03:22:44 $ (UTC)

The Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus) is one of three species of hummers that inhabit the Calgary area during the summer months (the others being the Calliope and Ruby-throated). Hummingbirds simply have to be the most amazing birds, bar none. Their coloration is brilliant, they're smaller than some wasps, they zoom around like little UFOs with wings beating faster than the eye can see... what can I say? They're just pure cool.

If I think back, I must credit my initial foray into bird watching with my fascination with the hummingbirds that I often saw while working in Pasadena, California in 1996. Because they are small critters, not to mention fast movers, I had to buy some binoculars. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Resources where you can find out more:

If a raindrop hits me, I'm toast...

This appears to be a female Rufous Hummingbird that Deb & I spotted while exiting the Votier's Flats area of Fish Creek park on a rainy Sunday afternoon, August 4, 2002. We weren't seeing much, and so were heading back to the parking lot along the left-hand trail just prior to the creek.

It was overcast and my camera was tucked away to escape the drizzle but when the hummer suddenly flew right up to us and landed, no way could I not try to take the shot. Amazingly, it's "okay" for a knee-jerk point and shoot reaction. We had seen the little birds zooming around off and on during the summer, but never had one close enough for even a mediocre photo.

The raindrops are probably a sizable percentage of the hummer's body mass!

Photo info:

  • 320 x 248 true color
  • Exposure time: 10/3819
  • F-stop: 7.4
  • ISO speed: 400
  • Focal length: 71.2000 (with 1.5X teleconverter)
  • Exposure bias: 0.0000
  • Metering mode: Pattern
  • Exposure program: Normal
  • Compression: 6
  • Camera make: NIKON
  • Camera model: E5700

A lazy, rainy day sittin' on the porch...

Another shot from August 4. I had time to get the exposure better on this one, but the hummer had flown off a ways and didn't look back or come closer again after I was set up.

Photo info:

  • 320 x 300 true color
  • Exposure time: 10/1896
  • F-stop: 4.7
  • ISO speed: 400
  • Focal length: 71.2000 (with 1.5X teleconverter)
  • Exposure bias: 0.0000
  • Metering mode: Pattern
  • Exposure program: Normal
  • Compression: 6
  • Camera make: NIKON
  • Camera model: E5700

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