Another humdinger

Good news: I managed to keep the total photo count below 300 when I was at Mom and Dad's for dinner tonight. This is definitely progress.

Better news: the hummingbirds were incredibly active while I was there, and I managed to snag some pretty decent shots of them if I do say so myself.

But first, a couple of close-ups, starting with a Chickadee that's undergoing its late-summer moult:



After consulting my new bird book, I think this is a Chipping Sparrow—and that in at least a few previous posts I misidentified the same bird as a Redpoll. Ah well, live and learn:



A few shots of different hummingbirds hovering near the feeder:







At the right angle, you can see that the distinctive red feathers are just starting to emerge on the throat of this young male hummingbird:



On occasion, two birds actually can share one feeder:







This male, however, is keeping a wary eye on the interloper looking to land:



A young male stretching his wings:



Again, you can see just a hint of red coming in:



A few close-ups that I thought came out pretty well:







Although he doesn't have any noticeable bare patches like some of the birds I've seen, I'm still thinking that this male is in the process of moulting:



This one looks like he's on the verge of doing a back flop:



I was very excited to finally get a clear shot of a hummingbird with its beak open:



But of all the bird photos I took at Mom and Dad's, this was hands down my favorite of the bunch. It's the kind a one-in-a-million shot that makes you grin like a little kid when you discover it among your photos, one you know would be nearly impossible for you to ever take intentionally. So without further ado, I give you... a hummingbird blowing a raspberry:



And, of course, some Kaylee photos to close things out. In the late summer, she loves to help out by shredding corn husks into smaller pieces:



"See, Dad? I'm helping clean up."



"Um, he's not going to try and take it away from me, is he?"









Her work here is done: