Perfect Day That Was For The Ruby Throated Hummingbird

It took me my life time to finally see the hummingbird up close, and to photograph that close. Only four yeas ago, when we visited one of the provincial parks here in Ontario, Canada - there he was, ten meters away from me. Not that close. I got few snap shots (not very good ones), and you know I was happy. It was my first time in over 30 years to see hummingbird in real life, until then books, pictures, Internet were my source. Since then I was able to get few pictures of hummingbird in my backyard, but again all pictures were taken at low light.

How did he end up in my backyard (of course not the one from the park)? The answer is simple, my red Horse Chestnut tree, which in the past three years been very nicely blooming. However, I cannot take all the credit. When I look out the window from second floor the other day, I can see that everyone else has all the right settings for the hummingbird to show up, even the feeders.

The perfect day arrived. Perfect morning, no clouds, no wind, morning sun and not super bright. Sun behind me. Ruby-Throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) flies into my garden and guess what I do have my camera with me. Since I knew that the hummingbird been here before, I put the camera into sport mode. I wasn't ready to waste my time to use manual settings, not at least not in the moment like that. It all happened in a matter of few minutes, thus the results.

'Patience and fortitude conquer all things.' ~ quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson (American Poet, Lecturer and Essayist, 1803-1882)



'Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.' ~ quote by Jean-Jacques Rousseau (French philosopher and writer whose novels inspired the leaders of the French Revolution, 1712-1778)