Photo of the Day: Anna’s Hummingbird

For Rick Derevan, patience, and a beach chair, pays off.

This Anna's hummingbird approaches a branch of staggering florets in Rick Derevan's backyard in Atascadero, California. The bird is about the size of a ping-pong ball, and weighs about as much as a nickel. It's range extends up and down the west coast of North America. Photo: By Rick Derevan

By Todd Petty

Published March 13, 2014

Rick Derevan says there's no dramatic story behind the picture of this Anna's hummingbird—and that's just the point. "One doesn't need to take an exotic trip to get a prize-winning photo," says Derevan, who went no farther than his Atascadero, California, backyard to grab this shot. He knew that the hummingbirds were attracted to the gooseberry bush there, so he fetched a beach chair and waited, his camera at the ready. He took a handful of shots at the same group of flowers, but this particular picture, he says, happened to be the best.