A Photo a Day by Bill Heller

Bird Photos
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Saturday, March 1, 2008

Iridescent Anna's

 It was a bit of a gray day today. But there was still enough sunlight to show off this guy's beautiful plumage.

 
Saturday, December 22, 2007

Carmel Valley Hummer

 Today we took a nice trip to a nursery in Carmel Valley. It's one of my favorite places to chase humming birds. There are always a bunch of them but there is one in particular that seems to like to play. He keeps buzzing me and then sitting and waiting for me to get almost close enough for the shot I want before taking off again. I'm sure he's having as much fun with me as I am with him. Fortunately, he usually takes pity on the big lumbering beast with the 300 millimeter nose and lets me get a few nice shots.

 
Saturday, September 8, 2007

Fuzzy Contemplation

 Like I've said before, the subject is important but the background can really make or break the image. The pink around the hummingbird is from the flowers (or more technically the bracts) of the Bougainvillea he is resting in. I love the contrast with his beautiful feathers.

This is actually an older shot, it was in my first show. The show was a flower theme, but interspersed in the flowers were small shots of hummingbirds. Seemed fitting to me. :-D

 
Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Hummer in the Bush

 It's taken a while but we have built up some nice traffic to our hummingbird feeders in the back yard. Originally I thought our umbrella was blocking their view of potential threats and scaring them away. When we put it down for a while they came closer and started eating at our feeder that is hung the highest. Now that they are more comfortable, the umbrella is back up and they seem to like the seclusion of it. We have two lower feeders that are almost under the umbrella and they are emptied the fastest. I even got scolded today when the lower feeders were empty!

 
Sunday, August 19, 2007

Nappin' in the Golden Hour

 This is my friend from the other day. Like I said he was back in the evening, and the light just kept getting more and more beautiful.

 
Friday, August 17, 2007

After Dinner Nap

 Truth be known it is more of a DURING dinner nap. He was sitting there napping and licking his chops. Then, every so often, he would wake up (almost) then lean over and take a few sips. He let me get very close, but his friend (mom?) was a little excited at one point. I don't think I freaked them out too much though because they came back later in the evening after leaving for a bit to let me clean the feeder and make fresh food. He was watching, because I barely had the feeder back up and he was on it while I was still standing there.

The last time we had a hummer do this he was staking out the back yard to raise a family. I'm not sure it is the right time of year for that, but I'll be watching.

 
Friday, July 27, 2007

Reflective Hummer

 This was at the same nursery as the hummer from the other day. This guy was just being thoughtful in the filtered light. He was watching me intently as I got closer. He did not seem scared. He was more curious I think. He kept tilting his head from side to side. He probably knew the big lumbering beast that was stuck on the ground could never get close enough to bother him.

I love the way the side lighting shows every feather on his face.

 
Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Mimosa Hummer

 Last week we had the pleasure of exploring some beautiful nurseries in Carmel Valley near Monterey. It was a great place to chase hummers.

 
Saturday, July 14, 2007

Beak Cleaning

 Hummers seem to like to clean their beaks after they eat. For that matter, my finch seems to like to do that too.

 
Saturday, February 17, 2007

Egret in Flight

 This image was taken at the same time as the happy seals. The seals were just to the left of this guy. It was a fun day to be out with my camera!

 
Monday, January 1, 2007

Egret in the Wind

 The last couple of days have had some amazing winds. Wild weather always makes for great photo opportunities. The backdrop of this image looks almost like a painting, but the gusty wind made these beautiful ripples on top of the bigger waves near the beach. The timing of the heavy gust was perfect too, just at the right time when this beautiful Egret looked up from foraging in the tidal pools.

 
Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Anna

 We were looking at roses the other day at La Sumida Nursery on Patterson in Goleta. I was minding my own business when I heard this buzzzzz over my head. She was having a great time buzzing the roses and me, but with a little patience I was able to find her resting spot in the top of a Pomegranate tree.

 
Thursday, November 2, 2006

Taking Flight

 The hound loves to explore new territory. I guess she's sniffed all there is to smell at home. Yesterday we got to take a walk along the bluff in Shell Beach, just north of Pismo Beach. Near the end of our walk we heard a bit of chattering from a bush. Upon further examination we found the hiding place of a beautiful hummingbird. Unfortunately the sun was too low in the sky to get a good shot so when we went out for our walk today I checked the bush and sure enough, that must be home for this guy!

I took quite a few shots, this is where he was just about tired of playing with me. He is just starting to take flight. You can see his left wing rising behind his back.

 
Friday, October 20, 2006

Attitude Gull

 I liked this photo when I took it. But I had no idea what I could possibly do with it. Then, when I was getting ready for a show one evening I started playing in Photoshop. I decided that the space above the bird was perfect for a little creativity. The way he was walking made him seem very determined, but there was just a little something missing. The reflection in the glasses is the palm trees from another one of my cards.

I was actually able to convince many of the kids at various art shows that I had to bribe the seagull with fish to get him to wear the glasses. :-D

 
Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Green Hummer

 She thought she was blending in pretty well, but I saw her fly in.

 
Saturday, September 9, 2006

Anna

 We when to a beautiful place in Carpinteria today called Seaside Gardens. Seaside Gardens is a nursery and botanic garden. They had some amazing plants. And it was a hummingbirds' paradise.

One of the things I liked about the Gardens is they had the plants separated by country of origin, both in the sales area and the nicely designed botanic gardens.

So, if you are in the area and you find yourself in need of a Lotus for your Koi pond or anything else remotely exotic just get off the 101 at Exit 88 (Padero Lane or Santa Claus Lane) go toward the mountains and turn right. Seaside Gardens will be on your left.

 
Friday, September 1, 2006

Hummer-Hawk

 She looks like she is perched, just waiting for lunch to scurry by. The only problem with that is flowers usually don't scurry.

In reality, she is stretching her neck out and tilting her head back and forth trying to figure out why there is a strange creature with a 300mm nose stalking her.

 
Sunday, August 27, 2006

Butterfly Beach Sunset

 It was a nice sunset this evening. No clouds, but still a nice glow in the sky.

 
Thursday, August 24, 2006

Sunset Exercise

 I went to the doctor and, big surprise, I have to eat healthier and get more exercise! (should have seen that comin') On the plus side, walking is his recommended way to do that. And I figure, if you're gonna walk, you might as well do it someplace nice!

This is Butterfly Beach in Santa Barbara. It is one of the less traveled beaches around here. It is not in an area that you would normally stumble on. And it is our favorite beach. So after making one good pedometer out of two broken ones, we had a nice sunset walk. Oh, I mean... we went out and got some exercise!

 
Monday, August 14, 2006

Sleepy Hummer

 Well I did not get my hummingbird feeder this weekend, but at least I got the hummingbird! :-D

 
Sunday, July 30, 2006

Oriole Eating Seeds

 Well, at least I think it's an Oriole. She's beautiful whatever she is. She was flittering from bush to bush looking for seeds. There was actually quite a breeze and she was swinging wildly on this small branch.

 
Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Tomato Worm Assassin

 This is how we take care of tomato worms around here!

We really like birds in our yard anyway and it appears these guys really like tomato worms. We try to encourage them as much as possible.

 
Thursday, May 11, 2006

Santa Barbara Beach Bums

 We have not been seeing the sun much lately. But, it is a beautiful day when we do!

 
Sunday, May 7, 2006

Costa's Hummingbird

 I like this shadow of this guy on the feeder, nice profile!

 
Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Lil Brown Bird

 I like these guys, they are quite comical.

They are not native to the United States, they are actually from Europe and Africa. But they seem to thrive anywhere by mooching off of gullible humans who like them and think they are quite comical.

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