Blue-throated Mountain Gem

Osprey60

This shot of the blue-throated mountain gem (now Blue-throated hummingbird) took a bit of work. At the feeder setup, the mountain gem would come in for a few seconds every ten minutes or so. The mountain gem would first fly into the clearing, hover in midair for a second or two to survey its surroundings, after which it would dart straight to a feeder, and then fly off. I wanted a shot without the feeder, so that meant taking the shot when it first showed up hovering. I noticed that mountain gem would always show up from the same direction and typically hover in close to the same spot. After over an hour, I finally managed to get this shot just as the sun had begun to set. There was just enough light to get the shot without having to introduce a flash. But I think the more muted colors of this hummingbird are more suited to diffuse light than direct sun and am quite pleased with how this turned out.