Birds of North America

I moved to North America in 2023 and had an opportunity to explore few places. Got to experience a wide variety of birds that I got to capture through my lens. Few pictures in this blog come after a long wait of 16 years especially Humming bird pictures, that I had seen only through internet as these are not found in India or any other countries in Asia. I used to always hope to capture a Hummingbird humming on a flower! I always had waited for this moment and here it is. It has not been an easy task for me to photograph Hummingbird. Including few amazing facts along with few other bird pictures below.

Ruby Throated Hummingbird. Captured at Raleigh, NC with Nikon D850 + Nikkor 400mm f/2.8
They are the only birds that can fly backward and upside down, thanks to an extremely mobile shoulder joint. Their wings can beat up to 200 times per second, producing a humming sound that gives them their name. 

Ruby Throated Hummingbird. Hummingbirds are the smallest birds in the world, with the bee hummingbird being the smallest bird species overall. Their wings beat at an incredible speed, generally from 12 to 80 times per second while hovering, and up to 200 times per second during a courtship dive. This rapid motion creates the characteristic "humming" sound for which they are named.  

They have a very high metabolism, which is why they need to eat frequently. A hummingbird's tongue is grooved like a "W" and has tiny hairs to help lap up nectar. 

They have a great memory, remembering where their food sources are and returning to the same feeders and flowers year after year. Despite their size, they can be very feisty and will defend their territory against larger birds.

They have little to no sense of smell, but can see and hear better than humans and can see ultraviolet light. To conserve energy at night, they can enter a state of torpor, which lowers their heart rate and body temperature. 

They feed on nectar from flowers and also catch insects in mid-air or from foliage for protein and nutrients. Females build tiny nests from moss, lichen, and spider silk. Their eggs are about the size of a coffee bean and weigh less than a gram. 

The brilliant color on a hummingbird's throat is not from pigment, but from prism-like cells on their feathers that refract light.

Unlike other birds that flap their wings up and down, hummingbirds rotate their wings in a figure-eight motion, generating lift on both the upstroke and the downstroke, which allows them to hover with such control.

The Allen's hummingbird captured at Oceanside, California. It is a small, energetic bird known for its brilliant coloration and aggressive territorial defense. Here are some fun facts about this unique species.

The Allen's hummingbird. They are one of North America's smallest birds, measuring only 3 to 3.5 inches long, but can reach speeds of 49 mph in direct flight and dive at speeds up to 60 mph.

Like other hummingbirds, Allen's hummingbirds are the only birds that can fly forwards, backward, sideways, and hover in place. Their wings beat at about 70 times per second in normal flight, a rate that can increase significantly during courtship dives.

To regulate their body temperature, they tuck their feet into their feathers in cold weather and let them dangle in warm weather.

Male Allen's hummingbirds are extremely territorial and will aggressively chase away rivals, and have even been observed attacking much larger birds of prey like kestrels and hawks.

They have an extremely high metabolic rate, requiring them to feed frequently throughout the day, sometimes visiting 1,000 flowers daily and consuming over twice their body weight in nectar.

While they primarily drink nectar, they are also insectivores, eating small insects and spiders for protein, often catching them in mid-air or plucking them from vegetation or spider webs.

Male Allen's hummingbird. Males perform an elaborate "pendulum" flight display for females, zipping back and forth in wide arcs before climbing high and diving, producing a sharp squeal with their tail feathers at the bottom of the dive.

After mating, the male leaves the female to build the nest and raise the young on her own. Females weave tiny, cup-shaped nests from plant fibers, moss, and spiderwebs.

There are two recognized subspecies: one is migratory, traveling to Mexico for winter, while the other ( S.s. sedentarius ) is a non-migratory year-round resident of southern California's Channel Islands and adjacent mainland areas.

The migratory subspecies ( S.s. sasin ) is one of North America's earliest migrating birds, with males sometimes starting their northbound journey as early as December and arriving at breeding grounds in January.

A collage of few bird pictures that I had taken over a period of past few years.

Female cardinals are vocal singers, are skilled nest builders, and have duller brown and reddish plumage for camouflage.

Female cardinals are vocal singers, are skilled nest builders, and have duller brown and reddish plumage for camouflage.

The Allen's hummingbird. 

The Allen's hummingbird. 

A female Anna's hummingbird has a green back and a dull gray throat and breast, unlike the male's bright pink or red head and throat. While the female lacks the prominent gorget, she may have some red flecks on her throat, and her tail feathers have white tips. They are similar in size and shape to males but appear duller overall, with a green and gray body. 

A female Anna's hummingbird.

A female Anna's hummingbird

A closer look at tiny feathers of a female Anna's hummingbird

The northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)

Bees at work, loved the bokeh effect that I got with my 400mm Nikkor Lens.

The Blue Grosbeak (Passerina caerulea) is a stocky North American songbird known for the male's striking deep-blue plumage, its very large, conical bill, and its affinity for shrubby, open habitats. Captured with Nikon D850 + 400mm f/2.8

The Blue Grosbeak. Adult males are a vibrant, deep blue with two broad, rusty-brown wing bars and a black "mask" area around the eyes. Females are mostly warm brown with similar, though less prominent, cinnamon-colored wing bars and an occasionally bluish tail. Both sexes have a characteristically large, silver-and-black bill. They measure about 5.5 to 7.5 inches (14-19 cm) in length with an 11-inch (28 cm) wingspan and weigh approximately 1 ounce (28 grams).

The Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) is the smallest and most common woodpecker in North America, known for its distinctive black-and-white plumage and adaptability to human environments like backyards and parks.