White Eared Hummingbird

The White Eared Hummingbird is a very rare visitor to the United States. And the most reliable place to find one is in Miller Canyon, Huachuca Mountains, at Beatty's Guest Ranch. Tom, Sr. usually posts sighting results on the ABA Birding News site, so if you want to see this beautiful little hummer, check that site daily.

I stopped by the other day when I couldn't get into Ramsey Canyon and saw a male White Eared about every 20 minutes.

Here are a couple of photos:

White Eared Hummingbird

White Eared Hummingbird

The End of the Blues: Last Blue Throat

Miller Canyon in the Huachuca Mountains of Southern Arizona remains the best place to see hummingbirds -- both in terms of species and quantity. It is not unusual to find 10 species in July, August, and September. In 2010, I found and photographed 13 species there. And in terms of quantity, hundreds are not an exaggeration. A survey was done a few years back with an estimate of nearly 6,000 hummingbirds visiting the Beatty's Orchard feeders in a single season.  Today's "5" Star photo is a Blue Throated Hummingbird who was making the rounds of the flowering plants near the feeders.

Blue Throated Hummingbird

Owling - Revisited

Last Thursday (July 5th) I talked about going to Madera Canyon looking for Western Screech Owls and coming back empty handed. Today Christine and I headed out to Miller Canyon looking for Spotted Owls. This time we were lucky. 

Miller Canyon sits in the southern end of the Huachuca Mountains. Last year one of the three big fires that burned over 1 million acres in Arizona was the Monument Fire. Named so because it destroyed much of the Coronado National Monument just south of Miller Canyon. Miller Canyon was also devastated, not just by the fire but by the flooding that came after the fire. While the landscape still show scars from the fire, it is starting to turn green again (albeit without the 100 + year old oaks, sycamores, and cottonwoods). Flooding changes everything. It creates new washes, creeks, and streams while rendering previous creeks completely dry. Both Miller Canyon Road and Miller Canyon Trail were wiped out in many spots. The Federal Government (NFS) did a great job repairing both. It is still pretty tricky to traverse Miller Canyon Road. A 4x4 vehicle is the best choice at the moment since our summer monsoons have arrived and continue to wash out the road at some of the switchbacks. The Miller Canyon Trail has been repaired in places but now is much more "rocky" than before. The good news is that the Spotted Owls have returned and are only 1/2 mile up the trail.

We arrived around 7:00 am and talked to Tom Beatty. Beatty's Orchard is at the end of Miller Canyon Road and the starting point for Miller Canyon Trail.  His apple orchard was completely destroyed in the fire and the entire area fell under thousands of tons of rock and dirt. Tom's done an amazing job at clearing out the rock (though tons remain). He's planted new apple trees and the trail is now open. Tom gave us a good idea of where to look for the Spotted Owls, and he was right on the money. We first came across a young Owl, then in a nearby tree found a younger Owl, with the mother about six feet higher up the tree. Here is a sequence of photos of the three Spotted Owls:

The older Spotted Owlet

The younger Spotted Owlet

Mom feeding the young Owlet

Mom comforting the baby

The two more relaxed

Mom flies back up a couple of branches away leaving the little guy for one last nice photo

Still More Hummers from Miller Canyon

Hummingbird season is just about over. A couple species stay year round in Southern Arizona.  At our place Anna's and Costa's are year round residents. Buff Bellied Hummers winter in the very southern tip of Texas, and the Ruby Throated winters in the very southern tip of Florida. Other than those three locations winter is devoid of hummingbirds in the United States. So, I have to get my last chance in at the rarer hummers. Here are a few more of my favorites from the last two weeks in Miller Canyon:

Magnificent Male

Magnificent Male

Magnificent Female

Rufous Female

White Eared Female

White Eared Female

Broad Tailed Female

Broad Tailed Female

Calliope Female

Blue Throat Male

Before Leaving Miller Canyon

Before leaving Miller Canyon, here are a few more photos. First, Beatty's Orchard has a hundred or so Apple Trees. Some were full of apples - red and green. This one was by itself and begged for a photo:

They also have a few squash plants that were blooming like this blossom:

The waterlilies were in bloom:

And, still some wonderful wildflowers like this Ivyleaf Morningglory:

So, that's it from Miller Canyon --- this time. I'll probably go back in a couple of weeks. We'll see.

More Hummers from Miller Canyon

So, here are a few more hummers from our Miller Canyon visit:

White Eared Male

White Eared Female

Magnificent Male

Blue Throat Female

Broad Tailed Female

Costa's Female

Anna's Male

Black Chin Male

So, this week's two trips to Miller Canyon found 12 species of Hummingbirds. Not bad!

Back to Miller Canyon, Again

Christine and I headed out early this morning to go to Ramsey Canyon. When we got there the road had been washed out. We had drenching monsoon rains last night, so all the washes had water and creeks were overflowing. So, we decided to go to Miller Canyon. Not only more wonderful hummingbird photos but a wonderful surprise as well. Yesterday, I told you that the Ruby Throated Hummingbird was only found in the East. On the Sibley's Guide map, there aren't any dots for Ruby Throated in Arizona. But, take a look at this:

Usually, I don't take photos on feeders. But, this was a special occasion. He was the only one, and was not around long. There are four hummers with red throats: Plain Capped Starthroat (which has a long wide stripe between eye and throat); Anna's (which has a red crown as well); the Ruby Throated; and the Broad Tail (which has a white eye ring, white line from chin to eye to neck, and buffy flanks). I'll show you some other hummers from this trip tomorrow.

Other Photos from Miller Canyon

In addition to the Hummingbirds I photographed at Miller Canyon there were some other birds and butterflies. I'l start with the Bridled Titmouse:

Here two Bridled Titmouse chasing each other among the trees

I also got a nice photo of a Lesser Goldfinch (which of course we had 50 of at any given time on our property):

Then finally, two butterflies:

Gulf Fritillary

American Lady

Miller Canyon Hummingbirds

There are 18 Hummingbird species listed in The Sibley Guide to Birds. The Ruby Throated is the only Hummingbird found in the Eastern US. (There have been rare sightings of Rufus as well). Rufus, Broad Tailed, Caliope, and Black Chinned are found in the Western US. (Allen's, Anna's and Costa's are sometimes found along the West Coast). 14 of the 18 Hummingbirds can be found in the Southern Arizona Mountain Ranges. There have been accidental sightings of Allen's and Ruby Throated, as well as the Cinnamon and Bumblebee Hummers that aren't even listed in Sibley's Guide. I have photographed 12 of the species. On this particular day in Miller Canyon, I photographed the following:

Blue Throated Hummingbird

Broad Billed Hummingbird

Broad Tailed Hummingbird

Anna's Hummingbird

Magnificent Hummingbird

There were also many Black Chinned, a few White Eared, a couple Violet Crowned, and one Rufus female that I didn't get good photos of. I was really focusing on the Blue Throated. They are the largest of the Hummers with 8 inch wingspan. They were chasing each other around quite a bit; buzzing right over your head at times. It reconfirms my belief that Miller Canyon (Beatty's Orchard) is the best spot in the US for hummingbirds. I still hope to photograph the Lucifer. I'll try Ash Canyon again next week. 

Miller Canyon Revisited

Since I didn't have a lot of luck at Ash Canyon I went to Miller Canyon which is just three miles north of Ash Canyon. There were over a hundred hummingbirds in Miller Canyon: Anna's, Black Chin, Blue Throat, Broad Billed, Broad Tailed, Magnificent, Rufus, Violet Crowned, and White Eared. I talked to the owner of Beatty's Orchard who said the Beryline was nesting just above the feeders and if I waited long enough I would probably see one. I was there for three hours and but the Beryline never showed up. However, I am very pleased with the Blue Throat photos. The first two are male Blue Throats feeding on some of the wildflowers:

Here is the male Blue Throat sitting on a branch

And, now the female Blue Throat sitting on a branch

Gobble Gobble and Cock-A-Doodle-Do

Miller Canyon also has some ground birds that are nosey or noisy -- actually both. First, there is a fair population of Wild Turkeys gobble gobbling around the mountainside. Second, there is a small population of Helmeted Guineafowl with their raucous rhythmic sounds. And finally the cock-a-doodle-do of the Roosters (and hens) that seem to roam around freely from Beatty's Orchard. The Rooster in the third photo seemed particularly pleased with the way he looked so I obligingly took his portrait. It goes in my file of "Farm Animals" that I sometimes feel compelled to photograph.