Hummingbirds might be one of my favorite groups of birds to photograph. Not only are they stunningly beautiful and unique amongst birds morphologically and physiologically, they can also be quite predictable in terms of where they perch and forage. If you know of a male’s territory in the breeding season, you can often figure out his favorite perches in a matter of minutes and set your camera up for his inevitable return. That was the case with this male Allen’s Hummingbird I found in a small, isolated preserve in the middle of Los Angeles County. I literally sat 6 feet from one of his perches and low and behold, the little red/green gem returned and I was able to get several nice shots before he flew off again.