Sugarite Canyon
Attacked by hummingbirds. Have you ever tried to take a picture of a hummingbird? It is not easy. They are too fast. We moved from the valley between Santa Fe and Chama New Mexico and made an extra-long (for us) drive to Sugarite Canyon just to the east of Raton NM. Today we entered Colorado (just a couple miles north of our campsite) and then turned back south hitting a dirt road at the border. We are located on a high ridge with a super view with two lakes within a couple of miles. This morning five deer were just outside our door. The RV is a very good, but expensive deer blind.
The only downside to this spot is that it is remote enough that both ATT and Verizon have zero signal. We had to go to town to send this update. Our route hasn’t been very straight and not according to plan, all plans are subject to change anyway, this time we changed plans for snow. We were further north and had intended to cross through Taos heading east, and were already north far enough to make that happen, or perhaps even cross into Colorado early, but instead, we retreated south (and lower in elevation) because of the winter storm warning.
Hummingbirds
Back to the hummingbirds, at any one time, we have between two and twenty hummingbirds right outside the RV. They are also too fast to count accurately. If you go outside when the flock is flocking, they will come right up to you and buzz you in the face or right beside your head. Ever heard a hummingbird peep, they do, you can hear them quite clearly when they are considering using your ear for a flower. I shot over one hundred pictures and have five marginal photos of them in flight.
Here is a link to the google map for the area.
Link to our 2019 Route.
Link to our route El Paso to Colorado
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Wow!
Nice pic of a hummingbird. Just got my copy of Family RVing. Great cover shot congratulations. Got our coach de-wnterized headed to the valley (Portland) for grandson’s HS graduation and a winemakers dinner. Next job recommission the boat and do some salmon and halibut fishing.
Phil Piazza
How neat about the hummingbirds! I assume there are plenty of flowers around for food. I put out a feeder and have only seen one this spring. Most years I have a pair is all.
Such a stressful life! Ok, so we can’t go here, so let’s go there, instead! Sounds like fun
Hummingbird are very aggressive.
Gorgeous.
to Phil
You are the first to say we made the cover. They didn’t tell me.
Scott
What were you photographing the hummingbirds with? To get a clear picture of them you’ll need an extremely fast shutter speed. Even on a cell phone, there should be a manual mode where you can change that. Although a fast shutter means it will be darker, so you’ll have to play with your aperture and ISO. I hope you get another chance soon.
to John
I was using a Fuji camera at about 100 zoom in sports mode at six frames per second. The biggest problem was that the hummingbirds were faster than the focus.
Ok. You may need to set it on manual focus and dial it in on the feeder
to John
The focus was on the bottle cap in the bottom of the picture, still it took 100 shots to get five hummingbird heads, still, the wings were way too fast. And it was a blue day. I’m going to argue a better camera is in my future.
Scott
Yeah, that would probably help. I’ve been shooting in manual for so long it’s all I’m used to now. But I’m learning there are times when auto is good.
to John
I really want, and have never had a really fast lens. My best camera was a film Canon FTb. With a 70-210 Vivitar lens. Every camera since then (1975) has been way more complicated and not as effective. Still, the lens was not fast enough. I guess they are never fast enough.
Scott
Not unless you’ve got $1,500 laying around lol. A good lens makes all the difference. I desperately need to upgrade my camera gear, but it’s not happening for a while. So until then, I just research and window shop.
to John
Thus the story of my life.
Scott
Fun but frustrating😊
Very cool. Stay warm. Hopefully the winter weather is almost over.
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