Interesting to me is the visible fanning of the tail. When the Anna's does this (documented in just the past two years) it makes a VERY loud "Snap!". When I've seen the BCHU do this, there is a sound at the base of the dive that is more like a warble, a tone of constant pitch modulated in amplitude maybe 4-5 times per second. After viewing this clip, I now think that sound is also somehow tied to the fanned tail. The Anna's dive is much higher speed (I recall up to 60 MPH at the peak speed).
Maybe I didn't watch carefully enough, but this isn't nearly as cool as the U dives I watched many times as a kid of the ruby throated, and you need sound to get the whole picture. When they dive, it sounds like a siren coming, then when the direction suddenly reverses at the bottom, you hear a POP, just like a whip crack. Yeah. That was the 50s, no video then, and I'd be lucky to scrape up $10 in a year and avoid getting killed on the playground.
ive seen all the humming birds near my house (there are a lot) doing this recently. at first i thought they were swooping as a threat display then i thought its probably a mating thing cause its springtime!
interesting to know that the loud chirp is from the tail and not the voice
This is just amazing! :-O That fact that you could get any frames at ALL of the bird in the dive is astounding! In all the years I've watched the males U-dive with the naked eye, I've never been able to follow them at the bottom of the dive or had any idea of their wing motion at high speed. It seems they do a lot more gliding and wings-tucked-in falling than I expected. Great job! :-)
It surprised me when I reviewed the clip I filmed. The hummer did about 7 or 8 U-dives on another hummer hiding in a tree so I could only TRY to follow the diving bird with the camera. If I caught 1/4 second of the bird, that's 5 seconds in HS. Since the camera locks all settings once you start filming, I don't know how the bird stayed in focus at all- I either had a small aperature or set the camera for infinity focus. It really is cool to see how differently the hummer flies.
I was thinking that the wing motion reminded me of a White-Throated Swift (related to Hummers) and at other times of a Peregrine Falcon in high powered flight. The more ways you look at these little birds the more interesting they are! :-)
I'm trying to post some examples of the capabilities of this camera with you in mind. Where the camera doesn't excel in resolution and clarity, it does a good job capturing movement you'd miss with anything else. When I review footage I took that I thought I had not shot anything special, I very often had captured some surprising stuff.
Some of the shots don't even look like hummingbirds. I really could not track this hummingbird at all. I just TRIED to track it by pointing the camera haphazardly in the air and was able to get it into the field for a split second or two. I filmed a LOT of sky, and very little of the bird! Thanks bro!
Interesting to me is the visible fanning of the tail. When the Anna's does this (documented in just the past two years) it makes a VERY loud "Snap!". When I've seen the BCHU do this, there is a sound at the base of the dive that is more like a warble, a tone of constant pitch modulated in amplitude maybe 4-5 times per second. After viewing this clip, I now think that sound is also somehow tied to the fanned tail. The Anna's dive is much higher speed (I recall up to 60 MPH at the peak speed).
HummingbirdSociety 8 months ago
Maybe I didn't watch carefully enough, but this isn't nearly as cool as the U dives I watched many times as a kid of the ruby throated, and you need sound to get the whole picture. When they dive, it sounds like a siren coming, then when the direction suddenly reverses at the bottom, you hear a POP, just like a whip crack. Yeah. That was the 50s, no video then, and I'd be lucky to scrape up $10 in a year and avoid getting killed on the playground.
cusanusnicolas 1 year ago
ive seen all the humming birds near my house (there are a lot) doing this recently. at first i thought they were swooping as a threat display then i thought its probably a mating thing cause its springtime!
interesting to know that the loud chirp is from the tail and not the voice
Shramir 1 year ago
Incroyable !! Magnifique !!
dodiese09 2 years ago
This is just amazing! :-O That fact that you could get any frames at ALL of the bird in the dive is astounding! In all the years I've watched the males U-dive with the naked eye, I've never been able to follow them at the bottom of the dive or had any idea of their wing motion at high speed. It seems they do a lot more gliding and wings-tucked-in falling than I expected. Great job! :-)
jcmegabyte 2 years ago 4
It surprised me when I reviewed the clip I filmed. The hummer did about 7 or 8 U-dives on another hummer hiding in a tree so I could only TRY to follow the diving bird with the camera. If I caught 1/4 second of the bird, that's 5 seconds in HS. Since the camera locks all settings once you start filming, I don't know how the bird stayed in focus at all- I either had a small aperature or set the camera for infinity focus. It really is cool to see how differently the hummer flies.
taofledermaus 2 years ago
I was thinking that the wing motion reminded me of a White-Throated Swift (related to Hummers) and at other times of a Peregrine Falcon in high powered flight. The more ways you look at these little birds the more interesting they are! :-)
jcmegabyte 2 years ago
I'm trying to post some examples of the capabilities of this camera with you in mind. Where the camera doesn't excel in resolution and clarity, it does a good job capturing movement you'd miss with anything else. When I review footage I took that I thought I had not shot anything special, I very often had captured some surprising stuff.
taofledermaus 2 years ago
Man, I love this video. Humming birds are almost surreal. I'd easily believe that this one was digitally created if you told me it was. ^_^
ryukenosuke 2 years ago
Some of the shots don't even look like hummingbirds. I really could not track this hummingbird at all. I just TRIED to track it by pointing the camera haphazardly in the air and was able to get it into the field for a split second or two. I filmed a LOT of sky, and very little of the bird! Thanks bro!
taofledermaus 2 years ago