Attending the 2024 Hummingbird Migration Celebration
This past weekend I drove the camper van north to Connersville, Indiana to attend the 2024 Hummingbird Migration Celebration. The event was hosted by the Indiana Audubon Society at the Mary Gray Bird Sanctuary. Entrance fee on the day of the event was $15.
Parking was offsite in a nearby field. Participants were ferried to the bird sanctuary via a trailer towed by a pickup truck. I rode with a group of kids and they got a kick out of the ride. The event was laid out really well with plenty of room for people to mill about and check out the various activities. The first place I visited was the hummingbird banding station where expert hummingbird banders were attaching minuscule bands to the legs of these little birds. Participants had the opportunity to see a hummingbird bird up close, and even feel its heartbeat. It was very cool. The lead hummingbird bander, Lina Rifai from Indiana University Kokomo, gave an outstanding 1.5 hour presentation on hummingbirds. I learned so much from that presentation.
While at the event I tried to take some bird photos, but with little success. While the banding demos were underway, they had taken down all the hummingbird feeders to encourage the birds to feed at the traps. This was exactly the same situation at the Land Between the Lakes Hummingbird Festival. So essentially there were no hummingbirds around to photograph. Only after the demos were complete, around 11am, did the organizers hang a few feeders. But the hummingbirds were not going to the feeders because people were buying handheld hummingbird feeders from a vendor at the festival who told them to hang around the feeders. So all you had was a bunch of people hanging around the feeders with these little cups of nectar in their outstretched hands. It was kinda comical actually.
I did get lucky when there was a 3 minute lull in the crowd and a hummingbird approached a feeder. She didn’t land on it but just checked it out. I managed to get a single photo.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird. This apparent female has bulked up quite a bit in preparation of the fall migration. Note she is sticking her tongue out and her bill is covered with pollen. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens mounted on a monopod set at f/6.3, 1/4000 sec, ISO 8000.
There are a couple of ponds at the nature center so I walked down to check that area out. The only bird was a single female Red-winged Blackbird. She was perched on a cattail with an insect in her bill.
Red-winged Blackbird. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens mounted on a monopod set at f/6.3, 1/4000 sec, ISO 8000.
I’ve now attended two hummingbird festivals in two weekend, so what I have learned? The obvious lesson is that hummingbird festivals, especially if they are doing banding demos, are terrible places to go for hummingbird photography. Instead, next year I plan on going to each of these sites one week before the event where I imagine you can avoid the crowds and have the hummingbirds all to yourself. That being said, hummingbird festivals are fantastic places to learn about hummingbirds and to support organizations like Indiana Audubon that support hummingbirds and other birds.
Next weekend I have one last hummingbird festival to attend. It’s the Ijams Hummingbird Festival in Knoxville, Tennessee. Based on these last two hummingbird festivals I don’t expect to make any great photographs, but that’s OK. I am sure it will be a fun event anyway.
Happy birding!
