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Fast and Erratic Flyers

6/23/2016

1 Comment

 
​I will be writing about how hummingbirds, bees, and dragonflies move in erratic patterns, and why they fly so fast. I love taking pictures of hummingbirds, bees, and dragonflies but they are very hard to get in flight. I have my own strategy of photographing very fast animals though.

Ok, so first up is why hummingbirds fly in erratic patterns. Hummingbirds actually move their wings in a figure-eight, so they can fly fast in any direction, up, forward, left, right, or even backwards! They move so fast, most of the time they hum. Most hummingbirds beat their wings 52 times per second.
​
The second thing is why the fly so fast. They fly so fast so they can hover to get to flower to flower very fast to get all the nutrients they need. Hummingbirds do not have strong legs so they have to hover while they get the nutrients from the flowers.
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This black-chinned hummingbird just hovered for a couple seconds then flew away.  Interestingly, it’s not actually a black chin at all, but a bright purple chin!  You can only see the purple part when the bird puffs it out.  EXIF info: F/8, 1/2500th of a second, ISO 800.
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This is a bumble bee pollinating flowers.  EXIF info: F/8, 1/2000th of a second, ISO 800.

​Bees are also hard to capture. Bumble bees are not very fast, but they fly in very unknown patterns, so you don’t know where they will be next.  Bumble bees beat their wings about 230 times per second.

Bees fly in very erratic patterns because they are trying to dodge birds that might eat them, but they also travel in weird patterns to get to another flower so they can pollinate it. Bees store their pollen in their second pair of legs. They bring the pollen back to the hive, so they can later use it as food. When they are doing this process, they get pollen from the male plants, and deliver it to the female plants.

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This is a dragonfly hovering over the water.  EXIF info: F/5.6, 1/2500th of a second, ISO 400.

​Dragonflies are very fast and fly in erratic patterns. They are very hard to track with a camera lens. If they are flying over water, look for their reflections, then look up above the water and you might see them. Dragonflies beat their wings about 30 times per second.

Dragonflies fly really fast because they have thin wings, which makes them able to go up to sixty miles per hour. They fly in erratic patterns so they can dodge predators. Dragonflies spend a lot of their time just eating other insects.

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My technique for shooting fast birds is: Focus on the bird once, (click the focus button once), then put the bird in the corner opposite you think the bird is going to fly. Then, when the bird takes of click as fast as you can it the bird might be in the upper opposite corner from where you put it or, it might be in the middle of the screen. There is also a third possibility, you missed the bird completely, which happens all the time for me so don’t feel bad!
1 Comment
Vicki Stansbury
6/25/2016 16:44:29

Love your posts! Very interesting! Looking forward to more! 😊

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         My name is Porter Wick, I live in Parker, CO.  I am twelve years old, and I am going into the seventh grade in the fall. I was born in Virginia, and moved to Colorado when I was four.  I am not good at Spanish, but I love math.  I love cheeseburgers, but I do not like vegetables that much.
     
         I received a camera for Christmas 2015 so I jumped in to taking photos.  I really enjoy taking photos of wildlife and I think I am good at it. I love getting outside every week and looking at birds and other types of wildlife. My favorite thing to photograph is birds in flight. I enjoy going to all sorts of parks and national parks to photograph animals.
     
         I love animals, and respect them. I think animals are interesting, seeing as they all have different ways for everything, like eating. I don’t care what animal it is, bird, bee, or mammal. I love them all. All animals are fun to watch, (and photograph) and there a lot of them so you can never run out of animals.

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If you love bees, check out my other website.
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