One of many sought after species along the California coast is the Allen's Hummingbird. This little Christmas ornament of a bird, which mainly prefers riparian and scrub habitat, just so happens to be one of the most common species seen in my family's backyard in Studio City, CA. I always enjoy photographing hummingbirds because of their predictability: males fiercely defend small territories and always return to a select number of perches. Because of this, all a photographer has to do is sit near one of these perches and wait for the gem to return. This particular male liked several perches near two hummingbird feeders, one of which was surrounded by beautiful yellow/orange leaves of an apple tree. At one point I was able to photograph the male turning to show its impressive gorget through a small window in the apple tree.