Technical > Digital Imaging > Hummer question

Hummer question

What a lovely picture. Perhaps it is a malformed beak. ???

I once knew a lady in OK who banded the hummers and was licensed to care for the injured birds. Her summer porch was like a bee hive as she had 10 -15 feeders out. I was blessed to be able to hold one of her injured birds for a short period of time. It was an interesting experience. She said they did not live to an old age when they were not able to fly.
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Mac: No windows, No Gates, Apple inside

reply to SueS
I have not seen anything like this either. Perhaps this guy got his beak into something sticky?? I know they spend a LOT of time destroying spider webs, so perhaps this was something that was on the web? Just guessing.

reply to SueS
I'm not a hummingbird expert at all, but is it possible it's just a bead of nectar stuck to his beak? Like he stuck his head too far into a flower or something?

reply to SueS
Thanks for the replys. As I mentioned I would not have thought anything about it, if I had not seen it on a male earlier this summer. With this being a female I am pretty sure they are two different birds. This is the same bird shot on the opposite side. I didn't keep the photo of the male bird.

reply to SueS
My guess would be ruffled nose feathers.

reply to SueS
If you've been shooting hummers for 10 years it would be nice if you posted some.

mhhack I just shoot hummers hovering like this for the fun and challenge of shooting them. I prefer my bird photos to have environment like trees, water, and etc to make a more interesting photo.

reply to SueS
Radar? :-D

reply to SueS
I'm not sure if this is the same situation, but it's worth a shot.
The Facebook page Tennessee Wild has a picture of a hummer with sugar crystals on his upper beak and forehead from feeding on Jewelweed. It doesn't look exactly like what's on your picture, but it could be a similar explanation.
»www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=···0&type=1
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That which does not kill me postpones the inevitable.

Thanks for your reply. I can hope what I see is no more serious than sugar crystals. I was taking photos again today and the hummingbird looks the same as the posted photos.