The eyes don't quite have it!

In this shot, you can see both eyes clearly, but neither one gives you that intimate portrait feel, do they? Another problem, when using flash, is that just as we do, the bird develops a reflex to blink when he hears the camera trigger. (Use mirrorless mode, IE live viewfinder to avoid this, but be sure you are in the shade to avoid burning in the sensor!) Anyway, the bird is conditioned to blink on every shoot, and you tend to end up with a lot of droopy eye shots. There are a large number of birds and feeders in this location, so that is not so much of a problem in this series. It's most common when you have one dominant owner of a feeder chasing away all comers. Actually, the flash and/or the click of the camera becomes a positive reinforcement each time he drinks the nectar from your feeder, and also a cue that there is an invader in his territory, if he's not right at your feeder. Thus, sometimes when I'm bored, I'll shoot off a frame when nobody's there, and the owner will appear to chase away then nonexistant interlopers, and then take a sip to celebrate his victory over nobody in particular. Whereupon I may or may not shoot him again! I try to randomize my shooting, so that the bird always gets a sip, but on additional sips or on frequent return, gets photographed on the first, second, or third sip. Sometimes they are startled, and when this happens, nice acrobatic poses occur as evasive maneuvers are performed. Usually, such birds return, undeterred. The nectar is positive, the flash is a little startling, and the click of the camera seems to produce the maxim startle effect. Other birds just don't care at all, or acclimate totally after just a few visits, to where the clicks and flashes are disregarded totally.