17 January 2014 - Hummingbirds on point

On returning home from San Diego I downloaded my photos. I had to laugh at how many hummingbird shots I took. I was trying so hard to grab a picture when their heads were lit up by the sun. Ha. Not much luck. I also had many pictures of where a bird had just been--they are fast!

There were quite a few males in a large bed of birds of paradise. Appropriate. But the sun was low and I wasn't getting the angle I needed. I  climbed into the middle of the flower bed and hunkered down. I have to admit that I rather surprised and/or startled several people who did not expect to see a head amongst the posies.

Almost every picture I took featured a hummer on the point of a bird of paradise leaf. Must be the preferred perch. These hummingbirds are either Anna's or Costa's. Costa's have purple while Anna's are ruby red or more pink depending on how the light hits them. The females don't have the head color, but might have some on the throat.