Delphinium Dreamland

     The mature males and a few young males had already established territory near their own individual feeders, but there were still many more young to come. They would have to fight for the available flowers that weren't occupied by another juvenile. This young Ruby-throat chose an old Delphinium stalk to perch on while surrounded by fresh new stalks of blooms. He sat in his little dream land just waiting for the next feed. 
     For anyone who thinks they can sneak up on a hummingbird without them seeing, impossible! You may be able to move slow enough without scaring them, but they see the blink of an eye, the twitch of a finger, and nothing, I mean NOTHING escapes them. With every one of my slightest movements, this little male would catch it and stare for a few seconds. You have no idea just how incredible their eyesight really is. They can spot a perched hummingbird over a hundred feet away sitting in foliage that exactly resembles them. So I once again began to move ever so slowly until I managed a few shots through the foliage. If I didn't know any better, I'd have walked right by and not seen him. This was his patch of flowers that he fought for, and any other trespassing hummer would have to pay the price for intruding, or stay and compete with the owner. I continued after each shot to try for something better, and although he saw my every move, he remained fairly content with me. I eventually got to a small opening in the flowers to catch this little guy in Delphinium Dreamland. I just loved the color that surrounded him as he sat quite content in his reward. 
     One day this youngster would figure out the feeders and take ownership of one of them, but only when the previous owner headed south. For the time being he seemed quite content defending his favorite flowers he'd ever tasted. 
     Captured in early August, 2018. N.E. of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Juvenile male Ruby-throat hummingbird. 

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