Backyard Hummingbirds is a one-person project. Every photo, every article, and every video comes from hours at the feeders — cleaning them, keeping them filled, and watching birds I genuinely love. The site is free and always will be.
If you've gotten something out of it — a nectar recipe that worked, a feeder that brought more birds to your yard, or a slow-motion clip that made your day — I'd love your support. Donations go toward what keeps this going: sugar (hummingbirds go through more than you'd think), feeder supplies, and occasionally the equipment that ends up reviewed here.
Ways to Support
Any amount is genuinely appreciated. There's no pressure and no membership — just direct support from one hummingbird enthusiast to another.
The Big Dream: Slow-Motion Wings
Here's something I've been working toward for a while.
My Canon R5 could shoot 120fps slow motion. The R5 Mark II I use now pushes that to 240fps. When those clips go up, people always comment on the wings — and I get it, it looks impressive. But here's the honest truth: at 240fps, the wings are still a blur. You can tell they're moving fast, but the detail is gone. The flex, the twist, the full mechanics of a hover or a banking turn — it all disappears into motion blur.
To actually freeze hummingbird wing movement — to see the complete stroke, the feather position, the aerodynamics of flight in real detail — you need to shoot at 1,000 frames per second or above. Cameras like the Chronos and the Ember are built for exactly this. The footage they produce is the kind of thing you stop and watch twice. Not because the wings look fast, but because for the first time you can actually see what they're doing.
These cameras cost around $10,000. That's the long-term goal I'm working toward, one donation at a time. If I hit the target, the footage will be worth the wait — and you'll have been part of making it happen.
To update this progress bar, edit the donationReceived number at the top of src/donate/index.md and rebuild.