Anna's Hummingbird: What a Difference a Turn Makes!

This is an Anna's Hummingbird (WhatBird page, Wikipedia page):


This is the same bird a few moments later when it turns toward me:


Pretty big change, huh?

I took the shots an hour or two before sunset with my Sigma 600mm f/8. I'm not wild about the shots (mainly because of the distracting background which was way too light) but the reach of the Sigma really helps get shots that I couldn't before. Interestingly enough, both shots are at the same exposure -- the bird's coat really reflects light drastically differently based on the angle. Click to see the images larger.

Random trivia: an Anna's Hummingbird's heart beats at 21 times a second!


As a bonus, here's another decent shot I got out back of a Savannah Sparrow (I believe). Click to see it larger!