I’m not a patient person, so the fact that I waited about 20 minutes for a Ruby-throated Hummingbird to show up lets you know how much I wanted to photograph this bird.
It’s not like hummingbirds are rare. I’ve seen some in my backyard a couple of times over the years, and I got to photograph some beautiful Anna’s Hummingbirds in Nevada earlier this year. But during my still relatively new photography journey, I had never photographed a humming bird here in the Sunshine State.
I had my chance to do that on Saturday morning at the Orlando Wetlands, where at least one female Ruby-throated Hummingbird had been hanging out. Like most birds, the male Ruby-throated Hummingbird is more colorful than the female (and it has the namesake ruby throat). But I was still happy when this little lady showed up after I had been waiting and waiting at the spot where she had been spotted.
Funny thing is I got bored waiting and started taking pictures of some Sandhill Cranes that were coming down a nearby trail before I realized the hummingbird had arrived and was feeding among the red flowers. After filling up, she sat patiently on a nearby plant while I got a few more photos of her with her nectar-coated beak.
Hopefully her colorful counterpart will show up soon, but for now I’m happy to add another species to my bird catalog.
