A few days ago I participated in one of the many on-line photography classes being offered now via Zoom and other group meeting technology. It was a backyard birding class by my friend Moose Peterson. One of his many recommendations to help enhance our limited photography options at the moment was to add perches in strategic places in the backyard. The perches, positioned near the food or water attraction, will be a place for the birds to rest and wait their turn. The great thing about these perches is that the photographer can select perches appropriate to the size of the bird being photographed and place them in such a way as to make sure the background will enhance and not detract from the subject. I found a few potential hummingbird perches on my morning walk the other day and stuck some of them temporarily in pots between the feeders and blooming salvia until I found a permanent place for them. As I sat on the patio late in the afternoon, the juvenile male Anna’s Hummingbird appeared and began to feed on the salvia. He was behind the salvia blossom so I couldn’t get a clear shot of him. Then, he landed on the newly planted perch and posed there while I took a couple of shots. I guess I don’t need to move this perch to a better location.
