Madera Canyon, Santa Rita Mountains, Arizona - Part II

Continuing with Madera Canyon

Arizona Woodpecker

Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher

When in Madera Canyon it is always worth checking out the Feeding Station at the Santa Rita Lodge -- and Kubo Cabins. In this case, a continuing rarity, the Berylline Hummingbird. The Berylline is not  seen -- or at least reported every year. It comes from Mexico and only visits the extreme Southeastern Mountains of Arizona (Santa Ritas, Huachucas, and Chiricahuas).

Berylline Hummingbird

Magnificent (Rivoli's) Hummingbird Female

Magnificent (Rivoli's) Hummingbird Male

Hummingbirds of Arizona: Berylline Hummingbird

Berylline Hummingbird

Photo from Miller Canyon

Photo from Madera Canyon

Size: The Berylline is a mid-sized hummingbird of about 4 inches, with a medium length straight black bill.

Identifying Characteristics: Both male and female adults are predominantly metallic olive green with a rusty gray lower belly. The primary wings and tail are rufous in color and slightly forked. The underwing is also rufous. The male throat is  a slightly darker turquoise green than the female. The top photo is a female. The bottom photo is a male.  These colorings make the Berylline fairly easy to identify.

Habitat: Oak woods and canyons not far from water.

Range:   Forests in Mexico; rare to the United States.  

Seasons:     Year round resident in Sierra Madre, Mexico; occasional sightings in Southern Arizona between April and the end of September.

Where to Find:    This is a hard one to find. During the summer months they could be in Miller Canyon, Madera Canyon, and Cave Creek Canyon. You will want to check the Audubon's Rare Bird Alert and ABA's Birding News to help with the location. (In 2012 there were no reported sightings in the US).

Comments:     They don't come to the United States in large numbers and don't hang around the feeders for long. They come in for 10 to 15 seconds, drink, and then fly off into the trees far away from the feeders. Patience (and luck) are required to spot and photograph them. Those that come to Arizona often come to breed and thus stay close to their nests which are typically 17-35 feet above ground.  Try Miller Canyon first and then the upper feeding areas in Madera Canyon (Kubo Cabins or Chuparosa Inn). 

Hummingbirds of Southern Arizona: Berylline Hummingbird

Next up the very rare Berylline Hummingbird. This is not seen -- or at least reported every year. I've come across them in Miller Canyon and Madera Canyon. There have been a few reports over the years from Texas, but it's most likely spot in the US is the Huachuca and Santa Rita Mountains of Southern Arizona.

Female Berylline Hummingbird

The Joys of Birding -- or so

Once again the ability to accept defeat has surfaced. I spent the last two days photographing --- well, not necessarily photographing -- with some "birding" friends. Thursday we visited: Florida Canyon, Madera Canyon, Montosa Canyon, Amado WTP, Rio Rico Ponds, Kino Springs. Friday we visited WOW Arizona and Incinerator Ridge on Mount Lemmon. What a nice list of birds including townsend's, hermit, yellow, and red-faced warbler; western wood peewee, yellow eyed junco, several vireos, stellar jays, black hawk ---- oh, the list goes on .... 

The best birding spots were Florida Canyon and Mount Lemmon by far. However, I must admit that I didn't come home with one photograph that I would rate a four or five. 

But all those birds were quick looks. Gone in a flash -- or darting around on the backside of bushes and trees.  I wish that birds --- well, didn't have wings. It would make photographing them much easier. On Incinerator Ridge you are walking beneath a forest of pine trees. Unfortunately not much light gets through. Add to that the "flightiness" of birds and you can understand the difficulty.

However, we did see a Berylline Hummingbird in Madera Canyon at Chuparosa Inn. And, there were plenty of hummers including Allen's and Costa's at WOW Arizona. The hummingbirds were my best photos of the past two days. Here are a few:

Berylline Hummingbird

Allen's Juvenile Hummingbird

Costa's male and female fussing

Broad Billed Hummingbird

Black Chinned Hummingbird

Berylline Hummingbird

"Luck be a lady tonight." Or today. Actually it was September 9, 2009 while siting at Beatty's Orchard in Miller Canyon watching hummingbirds come to Tom's 10 hummingbird feeders. I was looking in front of me when something caught my eye to the nearest feeder (which was on my left). WOW! What a surprise. My first Berylline Hummingbird. It was a beautiful female. And, just as I snapped the photo a bee was flying into feed as well. Out of the three hours I spent there that day, this was the only visit of the Berylline. Luck was a lady that day.

Berylline Hummingbird

Plain Capped Starthroat & Berylline Hummingbirds

I mentioned on Wednesday going to Montosa Canyon to find the Plain Capped Starthroat and Berylline Hummingbirds that had been reported there. As I explained, I failed to find either of them. However, I thought I could dig up a couple of old photos I have taken of each.

First the Berylline. Adults are four inches and metallic olive green with a rusty gray lower belly. The tail and primary wings are rufous in color and slightly forked. The underwing is also rufous making it easier to identify in flight. The bill of the male is straight and very slender. It is very dark red in coloration, almost black. The female is less colorful than the male. They feed on nectar and flowering trees using a long extendable tongue. They will also catch insects to munch on.

Its normal habitat is forests and thickets ranging from Western Mexico to Central Honduras. It strays to southeastern Arizona during the summer months. It is also known to breed occasionally while in Arizona. The female builds a nest in a protected location in a shrub or tree. Females lay two white eggs. The Berylline is essentially non-migratory.

Female Berylline Hummingbird

Plain Capped Starthroat. Adults are five inches with metallic bronze on their upper-parts, tail, back and crown. They have white "lightning bolt" above and in back of their eye. The Starthroat also has a white patch on the rump (which no other North American Hummingbird has). The gorget is purple. The breast and underparts are a grayish white. The bill is straight, long and very slender. It is darkly colored. The female is slightly less colorful than the male.

Their range is from Western Mexico to Southern Costa Rica. It is a rare visitor to the US being reported in the Chiricahua Mountains, Huachuca Mountains, Santa Rita Mountains (Montosa Canyon as well as Patagonia), and in 2007 at Agua Caliente Park four miles from us. They, too, feed on nectar and flowering trees using a long extendable tongue. They will also catch insects to munch on.

Plain Capped Starthroat

Rare Hummingbirds

While on the subject of Hummingbirds I thought I would share with you photos of the rarer hummers of the US. The Calliope is found in very small numbers in the far western states and Arizona. The Berylline, White Eared, Lucifer, Violet Crowned, Plain Capped Starthroat, and Blue Throated are only found in the extreme southern Mountain Ranges of Southeast Arizona (Chiricahuas, Huachucas, and Santa Ritas).

Calliope Hummingbird Male

Berylline Hummingbird Female

White Eared Hummingbird Male

Lucifer Hummingbird Male

Violet Crowned Hummingbird

Plain Capped Starthroat

Blue Throated Hummingbird male

Berylline Hummingbird

Our good friend Susie (from California) sent me a "Rare Bird Alert" on Wednesday that a Berylline Hummingbird was seen in Madera Canyon at Kubo Cabins. Kubo Cabins is another of the premier southwest Arizona bird feeding stations.  Madera Canyon has three wonderful sites: Santa Rita Lodge, Chuparosa Inn, and Kubo Cabins. While Beatty's Orchard in Miller Canyon is the best of the Huachuca Mountain sites (followed closely by Ash Canyon, then Ramsey Canyon) Kubo Cabins is the top site in the Santa Rita Mountains. The Innkeeper at Kubo is very nice and welcomes you to sit on her porch to get a better view. There is a "Bird Feeding Donation" bucket which is appropriate for anyone using the site. Now, back to the story. I went to Madera Canyon on Thursday and was there for 3 1/2 hours (7:00 am - 10:00 am) without spotting the Berylline. (Thursday's post was of some of the other birds photographed that day). Yesterday, I received a second email from Susie saying the Berylline was spotted again -- but after 10:30 am. So, I headed out once again to find -- and photograph the Berylline, arriving around 11:30 am. I was there for nearly three hours and saw a Berylline three times. The first time he flew directly to the opposite side of a feeder never hovering about the feeder, just drinking and flying off. So, no photo. The second and third time I was in a better position and got a few photos (not great, but acceptable).

Berylline Hummingbird (male) with Broad Billed Hummingbird (male)

Berylline Hummingbird (here you can really see the rufous color on the wings)

Berylline Hummingbird (with the Berylline in flight you can see the rufous color on the underwing)