Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

I've been wanting to photograph hummingbirds for quite

some time, but finding them is hard enough,

and then asking them politely to sit still for a moment is even more challenging.

These are by no means the clearest photos of hummingbirds you'll find online,

but they are best photos of hummingbirds I've ever managed to take.

After doing a bit of online research, I believe both photos show

the ruby-throated hummingbird. The second photo makes that

hypothesis fairly clear, while the first photo does not.

However, it is only the male ruby-throated hummingbirds

that actually have the ruby-colored throat. In the first

photo, the throat has a small red tinge, but I believe that is

a mere reflection off the red bird feeder, and am therefore

concluding that the first photo shows a female

while the second photo shows a male.

According to National Geographic, these birds beat their wings

up to 53 times per second, can hover, fly backwards, and also fly upsidedown.

It's no wonder it's been hard for me to try to get a decent photo.

I wasn't looking for hummingbirds at the time I shot these photos

and didn't have my camera set to the best mode,

but I just got lucky on this particular day.

These photos were taken in Cripple Creek, Colorado.