Campsites with Hummingbirds in Mexico???

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GregScott

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How's that for highly specific?! I'm a hummingbird photographer, and each spring I usually go to Arizona to photograph hummingbirds during the migration.
I'm thinking I would like to catch the migration further south, perhaps on the gulf, or perhaps on the pacific.
Copper Canyon looks like it could be good. I found a campsite there that might work.

Have you seen heavily used hummingbird feeders anywhere in Mexico?
Where?
Do you have any idea what species were there, or how many species were there?

Thanks for any suggestions.

Check out my photos at GregScott.com
 
Awesome photos, Greg!  What shutter speeds do you need to use to stop the action of hummingbirds?
 
rsalhus said:
Awesome photos, Greg!  What shutter speeds do you need to use to stop the action of hummingbirds?

He is using a high speed flash to stop the hummer. You can stop one without a flash at 1500th or less.
 
Thanks for the compliments.

Well, "stop action" is a relative thing, in high speed photography.
The shutter on some cameras works at maybe 1/4000 or 1/8000 second.
My canon 550 EX flashes at 1/128th power (fastest setting is lowest power) has speed of 1/15000 second.
My custom high speed flash, built by deceased flash maker Olsen, is very powerful and has a flash duration of 1/33000 second, and 4 absolutely simultaneous flash heads.
This means that my wing tips resolve twice as much detail using the Olsen flash as with the Canon flashes.

Ideally I should be using it on larger birds, but I need to work out an electric eye to trigger the camera.
 
I live right at the border with Mexico and I grew up over there, and personally, I do not recomend for you to take a trip right now nor next spring. It is very dangerous right now, specially on the travel roads. If you want to humming birds, you don't have to cross the border. there is an RV park on a wildlife refuge in Rio Grande City, TX. It is next to the ranch where I hunt deer every year. Deep South Texas, has always been a sanctuary for migratory birds and butterflies. Many peolpe from all over the world come here cause there are some species, that you can only find here. If you need more info, let me know.
 
GregScott said:
. . . and 4 absolutely simultaneous flash heads.

Interesting, Greg. I never worried about simultaneous flash heads, but then, Barbizon models never moved quite as fast as the ends of hummer winds.  Am not a BIF photographer, so had never thought about how much faster the end of hummer wing moves vs. in closer to the body. I do remember that the further out on the merry go round I rode, the sicker I got.  :)

On some shoots I used slave units -- but never had to consider the duration between each unit flash while the shutter was open as you do to stop the end of a wing. My Mamiya RB67 had a leaf shutter in each lens so could sync much faster than my other film cameras, but with most of my flash work, slow shutter speeds were not usually an issue.

Most of my field work in those days was with a Norman 200B portable, but in my studio I used a 5 head Norman so had simultaneous firing. My portable units now are by Quantum. I have a Turbo Z and a smaller unit I sometimes use just to power my Canon 580EX or an old 283.

You do nice work, Greg. I enjoyed reviewing your website . . . 
 
Greg,

Someone else alluded to the problems in Mexico.  We have several threads talking about the problems which you can find by using the Search button above.  You mentioned the Copper Canyon as a place to visit.  The Copper Canyon is beautiful but it is NOT a safe place to visit these days.  We just saw a video of a shootout in a Copper Canyon town.  They didn't care where they pointed their weapons and the police stood by watching.  Please find ways to photograph your hummingbirds without putting your personal safety at risk and stay on this side of the border for now.

ArdraF
 
Where we stay in La Pe?ita RV Park in the town of La Pe?ita de Jaltemba, Nayarit, there are hundreds of hummers in the winter and many RV's have out feeders.
I'll neither encourage or discourage anyone from traveling in Mexico. There are thousands of RVers that travel there each winter. It seems though that most of the travelers are Canadian, what this says about US RVers I don't want to speculate. We aren't going down this winter due to health reasons, and I closely monitor what is going on SOB and we will make a decision for the winter of 2011/12 when the time comes.
 
Hi there, this winter will be our second winter at a campground in Northern Mazatlan.  There are at least 4 units with hummingbird feeders and they are all over the place.  Not sure on what kind they are though, sorry.  They also nest every year in the bamboo!  I was lucky enough to get pics of the mom and of the babies, when they were about the size of raisins.  I will try to post them in the a.m.  Too tired, now.

Janina
 
I winter over in Kino Bay Mexico and just about any time of the year you can see all the hummingbirds you want just by putting out a feeder.  I would say Kino Bay itself is fairly safe for now and it's only a 5 hour drive from Tucson taking the main toll road.  Several RV parks to choose from once you get there. 
 
Some years ago we rented a cabin in Uvalde, TX. The owners had many feeders out and hummingbirds were swarming everywhere.
 

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