The most beautiful couple in Wyoming come to visit us here in the Wind River Canyon every year, yet most people around Wyoming have never seen them in person.  They're flashy and catch your eye like no other couple around, but they are friendly to those that know how to approach them.  I had a fella that was near seventy, and spent his entire life in this state, out here at Hogbats Photography, that insisted, "They're not from around here..." when he saw their photos.  Technically he was right; the male arrives in late April, and I put out red, flat type plastic hummingbird feeders for them that you can get at Wally World for a pittance, and they're made in the USA.  It was quite by accident that I realized Bullock's Orioles wanted the "nectar."  So up go a couple of feeders for these birds when the weather is still very cold at night around these parts; the breeding hummingbirds don't arrive until the first week of July! 

When I hear someone say, "Female birds are not very pretty."  I want to show them the female Bullock's Oriole pictures; she radiates nature's beauty even in the snow.  The male is without doubt one of the most striking birds that nest here in the Canyon.  These photographs were taken early this week with a technique that is frowned upon by most of the popular photography books. 

One of the hummingbird feeders hangs on the front window frame of our cabin overlooking the cliffs; these pictures were shot through the window, something I had never tried seriously before.  I know this is supposed to be wrong, but try it for yourself with your favorite bird feeder.  Your camera and rig will no doubt be different from mine, but go ahead and give it a wave.  Put a bird feeder of any type outside of your window and when birds arrive you have a front seat, and a camera for the show.  It will take some practice, even for the veteran shooter to get the pictures you want.  These portraits speak for themselves.  "If you don't try, then for sure nothing will happen."

Camera-Canon 7D with Canon grip.  Lens-Canon 300mm f/4 L Series + Canon 1.4 extender II.  Hand held from about seven feet away from the sensor.  Shutter 1/1000 @ f6.3, ISO 400, shot RAW, and minimal work with Canon's supplied software and Elements 8; I just ordered Lightroom 5.  You will never see seven hundred dollar software in my Wind River Canyon cabin, and you probably don't need to spend that amount on software either; wildlife photography shouldn't need that type of manipulation:  Keep it Real.........

Bullock's Oriole,male-Wind River Canyon, Wyoming Bullock's Oriole,female-Wind River Canyon, Wyoming