Daily Archives: May 18, 2016

Hummingbirds in the Desert

Last week I had the pleasure of photographing for a few hours at the Christmas Mountains Oasis south of Alpine, Texas.  It’s a long way from “Nowhere”, but it is heaven for the birds.  Rare and beautiful Lucifer hummingbirds nest on the property and spend much of their time at the Oasis feeders.

A visit to the Oasis is by invitation only, so if you want to have a chance at Lucifer hummingbirds and many other species, sign up for my August 17-18 hummingbird photography workshop.  I’ll be posting the particulars on my website under the Photo Tours heading in the next day or two.  Eight slots were available and two are already taken.

Here are some images of the oasis and Lucifer hummingbirds:

Click on a photo to enlarge and sharpen it for better viewing.

Lucifer Hummingbird male landing at feeder, west Texas, USA
Lucifer Hummingbird male landing at feeder, west Texas, USA
Lucifer Hummingbird, female hovering in flight
Lucifer Hummingbird female hovering in flight.

These birds have long, curved beaks and, of course, the males have that incredible purple/pink/lavender…throat.  The above shots are in natural light and photographed with the Canon 7D mark II and 500 mm lens with Wimberly head and Feisol tripod.

Christmas Mountains Oasis bird habitat after sunset, s. of Alpine, Texas
Christmas Mountains Oasis bird habitat after sunset, s. of Alpine, Texas
Christmas Mountians, west Texas.
Christmas Mountains, west Texas.

Lucifer hummingbirds nest in cholla cactus near the top of this mountain.  Amazing!!

Lucifer Hummingbird male hovering in flight, west Texas, USA
Lucifer Hummingbird male hovering in flight, west Texas, USA.
Lucifer Hummingbird male displaying gorget, w. Texas
Lucifer Hummingbird male displaying gorget, w. Texas
Lucifer Hummingbird male perched.
Lucifer Hummingbird male perched.
Lucifer Hummingbird male feeding, w. Texas
Lucifer Hummingbird male feeding, w. Texas.

The last shot was done with the aid of multiple flashes and artificial background.  If you like stop-action hummingbird shots, you can appreciate this image made at about 1/12,000 of a second.  I’ll have the setup available at the Christmas Mountains Oasis Hummingbird Photography Workshop in August.  To register, contact the folks in charge of the Fort Davis Hummingbird Celebration at Fort Davis (info@fortdavis.com) or contact me by email at lditto@larryditto.com and I’ll get you hooked up.

Larry