Paul_Marto_Photography

Mama Hummer

In late Spring 2011, I was lucky enough to find an Anna's hummingbird nest that had two newly hatched babies. Over the course of about 3 weeks I visited t...
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In late Spring 2011, I was lucky enough to find an Anna's hummingbird nest that had two newly hatched babies. Over the course of about 3 weeks I visited the nest often and documented the progress of the family with my camera. I took about a thousand photos over that time period and my favorite of all the shots is the one you see here. In this moment, mama is just returning to her nest of two well fed babies, both with beaks wide open in anticipation of their next meal. Mama's back-lit wings are spread wide as she is landing, giving the photo a surreal feel. The very next day after taking this shot the babies having fledged, left the nest for good leaving me with mixed emotions. I was thrilled that the little ones had survived their days in the nest and had gone on to become contributing members of society. But at the same time I was saddened that my time with this wonderful hummingbird family was now over. I was amazed at how attached I had become to the whole experience over the three weeks I observed and photographed mama and her babies. Despite being saddened when the chapter had closed, I am thankful that I was able to witness what I had, and I am happy to share my story with you here.
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