Hummingbirds

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National Geographic photographers travel thousands of miles to photograph rare and beautiful wildlife. However, being a college student, a flight to Fiji isn't in my budget . I have to get creative and look closer at my surroundings. Sometimes beautiful photo ops are lurking right under my nose. In this case, it was right in my yard, which is home to a pair of hummingbirds. These two were fighting over who got to drink from the hummingbird feeders hanging on our house. During the summer in the desert, this is a common occurrence because nectar is so scarce in the dry environment.

A male Anna's hummingbird is silhouetted by a rainbow created by one of Arizona's famous (and sometimes violent) summer monsoon storms.

A female Anna's hummingbird perches on a blooming red bird of paradise plant (sometimes called the Mexican bird of paradise).

The male on a coil of wire.

The male singing in a palo verde tree.

All images were made using a Nikon D40 with a Nikkor 80-400mm zoom lens.