Black Chinned Hummingbird

Next UP: Black Chinned Hummingbird. 

The Black Chin resides in 9 Western States. In Arizona it prefers the Southern mountain areas, although we get him from time to time here at The Azure Gate where the  elevation is about 2200 feet. 

But why a "5" Star photo? A couple of reasons: 1) nice background of pastels which allow the hummer to stand out nicely; 2) fine detail of the bird itself; and 3) you can see the black chin as well as the magenta gorget making it easy to identify. The photo was taken in Miller Canyon in the Huachuca Mountains of Southern Arizona.

Black Chinned Hummingbird

Pairs of Two: Nine

More fighting pairs:

Rufous Hummingbird chasing a Black Chinned Hummingbird (Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona)

Sea Gulls fighting (Puget Sound, Washington)

Pena Blanca Lake

Although I wasn't successful in finding owls, I made the rounds in Madera Canyon, Rio Rico Ponds, and Pena Blanca Lake .  Here are a few photos from Wednesday:

Black Chinned Hummingbird, Madera Canyon

Cattle Egret, Rio Rico Ponds

Leopard Frog, Rio Rico Ponds

Turkey Vulture, Pena Blanca Lake

Coyote, Pena Blanca Lake

Black Chinned Hummingbird

Like most of the Madrean Sky Islands of Southern Arizona, the Black Chinned Hummingbird is the most often seen -- and, in bigger numbers. Interestingly, though the males seem to prefer the hummingbird feeders while the females seem to spend much of their time feeding on the wildflowers. The Black Chin is fairly easy to identify. It's bill is long, black, and straight. It appears as though it doesn't have a forehead, almost as if the bill comes out of the crown. For the male the crown is dark as is the chin and gorget. For the female there is no central patch. Here are some photos from my trip to Ash Canyon earlier in the week:

Black Chinned Hummingbird Female

Black Chinned Hummingbird Female

Black Chinned Hummingbird Female

Black Chinned Hummingbird Female

Black Chinned Hummingbird Female

Continuing with Patagonia - II

Whenever I go to Patagonia, either Patagonia Lake, of TNC's Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve, I like to stop at the Roadside Rest Stop and at Patton's. On this last trip I stopped at Patton's where I got my first decent photograph of a male Blue Grosbeak. And, of course, there were a couple of Violet Crowned Hummingbirds that would come to the feeders every 15 or 20 minutes. (Patton's is the best place -- probably in the US -- to find the Violet Crowned, so it is a real treat.

Blue Grosbeak Male

Bronzed Cowbird

Violet Crowned Hummingbird (probably female)

Black Chinned Hummingbird Female

Return to Ash Canyon VI

Still showing photos from Ash Canyon. Here a collection of six species photographed one afternoon:

Broad Billed Hummingbird Male

Broad Tailed Hummingbird Male

Rufous Hummingbird Young Male

Calliope Hummingbird Male

Black Chinned Hummingbird Female

Magnificent Hummingbird Male

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!

Patton's in Patagonia

I went over to the office this morning about 4:30 to check and see what was happening at the British Open (golf). Couldn't get into the office at first. There were about ten or so javelinas in the way. Some were adults and some young ones. The young ones may have been the ones I photographed a month ago on the day they were born. But, that's another story (you can see the earlier blog).


Yesterday, Christine and I went to Patagonia. First stop was Patton's. Second, the "butterfly garden" in  town. Today's Blog: Patton's. 

We have several hummingbird feeders. And, so we have a fair number of  hummingbirds around. Common to our feeders are the Broad Tail and Anna's. Frequently, we have Costa's and Broad Billed. Occasionally, we have the Caliope. Beyond those five species, you have to go into the southern mountain ranges. The Black Chin and Broad Billed are usually found in all of the southern mountain ranges. But, interestingly, different sites have "specialties." Beatty's Orchard in Miller Canyon (Huachuca Mountains) is the most reliable spot for Magnificent, Blue Throat, Beryline, and White Eared. Ash Canyon (also in the Huachuca's) is the most reliable place for the Lucifer and maybe Plain Capped Starthroat. Patton's along the Patagonia Creek (adjacent to the Santa Rita Mountains) is the most reliable place for the Violet Crowned and Rufus, with the occasional Allen's. Even the extremely rare Cinnamon Hummingbird has been found there. Count 'em, that's 16 of the 19 hummingbird species. Only the Ruby Throat, found throughout the East, the Buff Bellied and Green Eared found it the Southernmost tip of Texas can't be found in Arizona. So far, I have, what I think are good photos of 12 of the Arizona Hummingbird species. Maybe by the end of the summer .... Anyway, here are a few from yesterday's trip to Patton's:

Broad Billed Hummingbird

Violet Crowned Hummingbird

White Eared Hummingbird

Female Black Chinned Hummingbird

Thistles and Thistles

Yesterday, Christine and I hiked Sawmill Canyon, which is in the Huachuca Mountains. Access is through Garden Canyon on the US Military Base (Fort Huachuca). It would have been exciting to find a bear or a coatimundi, but we had to settle for thistles. "Settling" for thistles isn't quite as bad as it sounds. When in bloom, thistles are actually quite beautiful like these with a Cloudless Sulphur:

But, also we found a female Black Chin Hummingbird that liked the thistles too:

As well as this Pipevine Swallowtail:

This Giant Swallowtail:

This Anise Swallowtail:

And, finally these Cloudless and Southern Dogface Sulphurs:

So even though we didn't find any bears or coatimundi, we had a great hike and some very nice photos.

More from Miller Canyon in the Huachucas

Since I was in the Huachuca Mountains anyway I though I'd stop again in Miller Canyon. I got photos of five different hummingbirds: Broad Billed, Anna's, Black Chin, Magnificent, and Blue Throat. The Black Chin has the widest range being found in the far western US. The Anna's is only found in Southern Arizona, California, and the very Western parts of Oregon and Washington. The other three (Broad Billed, Magnificent, and Blue Throat are only found in a small slice of Central Mexico and (in the summer) the very Southern Arizona Mountains (Chiracahuas, Dragoons, Huachucas, Santa Rita's, and possibly the Baboquivaris). The first photo of the female Broad Billed is an example of an "almost great" photo. Miller Canyon's hummingbird site is deep into the woods, just up the mountain from a constantly running stream. It is a perfect location. However, the lighting is not always good. Usually my very flexible 100-400 mm zoom is perfect for the hiking wildlife photographer. At 3.1 pounds, it's not too heavy when hiking several miles and you can take hand held shots. This, however, would have been a better time to have had the 400mm f/2.8 lens, which undoubtedly would have produced a better photo. But, at 11.3 pounds (and $8000) it's a bit heavy when hiking. It also requires a very stable tripod, which adds additional weight and set up time. This is the dilemma for the wildlife photographer. I remember just last year I came across several large Moose a hundred yards from the road. I was standing next to someone with a Canon 500 f/4.0 mm lens on a tripod. I had my 100-400 zoom (f/5.6). I knew he was getting better photos than I was. On the other hand 75% of my photo gallery would not have been possible if I had to set up a tripod and attach the camera before I could take a photo. I guess the answer is to have both.

Sweetwater Wetlands

Yesterday, I took some time off to visit Sweetwater Wetlands (formerly called Sweetwater Ponds). Much has been done over the past year to clean out the invasion of "undesirable" plants that had "taken over" the wetlands. And, it would appear that the wildlife is much happier. As you might imagine, Southern Arizona is not like Minnesota or British Columbia or other places where you can't drive ten miles without seeing a lake. They are very few "lakes" (I use that term very generously) here in Southern Arizona.  People here get very excited on the rare occasion when they see a Bald Eagle or an Osprey. For most of you, photos of various "ducks" is probably not terribly exciting. Nonetheless, just to let you know that the desert does have it's occasional watering hole with Northern Shovelers and Cinnamon Teals (above) as well as Mallards, Ruddy Ducks, Coots, and Moorhens. But, this is really hummingbird country. I have photographed 11 different species of hummingbirds here in Southern Arizona. And, Sweetwater Wetlands is no exception. There was a "sweet" little Black Chin Hummingbird that seemed to want me to photograph it, so here he is too. 

black chin hummingbird

We will do one last photo before we leave Miller Canyon in the Huachuca Mountains. This is the male black chin hummingbird. He is very similar to the ruby throat except that the black chin is found in the West and the ruby throat in the East. An interesting note: Of the 18 (U.S.) hummingbird species, only the ruby throat and the rufus are found in the East; while 17 of the 18 are found in the Southwest.