Hummingbirds at Ash Canyon B&B

It's the height of the hummingbird season, so after Huachuca Canyon I visited Ash Canyon B&B in hopes of finding Lucifer Hummingbirds.

It's a reasonable safe bet this time of year at what is perhaps the most reliable place in the United States to find this "rare" hummer.

Both male and female Lucifers made appearances, plus a good number of other hummers. Here are a few of the photos I took:

Lucifer Hummingbird Male

Lucifer Hummingbird Female

Broad Billed Hummingbird Male

Broad Tailed Hummingbird (young male)

Birding Mount Lemmon Part VI

Still a few more recent photos from Mount Lemmon, here at the Alder Picnic site atop the ridge:

Broad Tailed Hummingbird

Here the Broad Tailed Hummer feeding

The often present Olive Warbler (couldn't get a great photo but...)

Pine Siskin

Hummingbirds of Southern Arizona: Broad Tailed Hummingbird

The Broad Tailed Hummingbird breeds during the summer in seven interior western states: Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Idaho, and Wyoming. It winters in Mexico and Central America.

It is very similar in plumage to the Ruby Throat but since the two don't overlap in range, easy to identify.

Broad Tailed Hummingbird

Birding Mount Lemmon - IX: Female Hummingbird Feeding it's Young

Mount Lemmon provides great birding for a variety of warblers, typical mountains birds, AND for nesting hummingbirds. Rose Canyon Lake on Mount Lemmon provides perfect hummingbird habitat. so it is not uncommon to see hummers and even find their nests. 

On this particular occasion I came across a juvenile Broad Tailed Hummingbird (native to the interior Southwest US) sitting on a dead branch and not willing to move no matter how close I got. I suspect its mother told him to wait right there so it did what it was told as good children do.

Soon mom came zooming in, sat on an adjacent branch, and started feeding the little guy. Here is a series of photos I took of the event:

Birding Mount Lemmon - VII

Still more photos from Birding Mount Lemmon:

Downy Woodpecker

Black Throated Gray Warbler

House Wren

Broad Tailed Hummingbird

Red Faced Warbler

Birding Mount Lemmon - VI

More from Birding Mount Lemmon the past two (now three) weeks:

Broad Tailed Hummingbird on Nest

Western Tanager

Painted Redstart

Dusky Flycatcher

Hermit Thrush

Flora and Fauna of The Azure Gate Bed and Breakfast: Broad Tailed Hummingbird

Next up is the Broad Tailed Hummingbird. Here a male sits in one of our Palo Verde trees:

Broad Tailed Hummingbird

Chiricahua Mountains - II

Today, some of the Hummingbirds:

Broad Billed Hummingbird

Broad Tailed Hummingbird

Blue Throat Hummingbird

Broad Tailed Hummingbird

Unlike the Broad Billed Hummingbird whose range is restricted to Southern Arizona, the extreme Southwest Corner of New Mexico, and Northwestern Mexico, the Broad Tailed Hummingbird can be found in the inland parts of several western states: Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming. And while it is not quite as colorful as the Broad Billed, it's buffy flanks, orange and white tail feathers, and rosy red gorget make it an attractive hummer. It like this photo because of the contrasting yellow/orange wildflowers upon which it is feeding.

Broad Tailed Hummingbird

Montosa Canyon and the Rare Plain Capped Starthroat

Yesterday, I decided to do something I had never done before. People have been reporting the presence of one or two Plain Capped Starthroat Hummingbirds in Montosa Canyon for over a month. I had gone three previous times looking and only once gotten a glimpse -- including marginal photo taken from quite a distance as he sat on a tree branch.  This last time when I arrived at the culvert on Mt. Hopkins Road in Montosa Canyon I found two gentlemen who had set up a hummingbird feeder. These birders were from Montana and excited about birding in Southern Arizona. I asked one of them who was kind enough to write down his answer (because as you might know I have become essentially deaf). He said there have been two Starthroats hanging around the feeder. So, I was excited and stood by. After a few minutes a hummingbird came to the feeder. The gentlemen said that was one of the Starthroats. He had been so nice I couldn't bare to tell him that it was not a Starthroat, but a female Black Chinned Hummingbird. I knew this because I have gotten close and gotten very good photographs of the Plain Capped Starthroat before.

So, yesterday, I headed out to Montosa Canyon once again, this time with my own Hummingbird Feeder. I put it in the same place as his was, and within 30 seconds there was a male Broad Billed Hummingbird using the feeder. I also took a fold chair, my lunch, water, and of course my camera --- oh, and of course, some insect repellent. It's Monsoon Season here in Southern Arizona which means bugs. Unlike Alaska, whose mosquitos are the size of Texas, the ones here are microscopic, so you don't know that you've been eaten alive until you start getting welts all over your body. Anyway, I sat patiently by for a little over two hours, but no Plain Capped Starthroats. The Broad Billed and his partner, plus one or more female Black Chinned Hummingbirds frequented my feeder. As I said to begin with, I have never done that before, i.e. put up a feeder or use any kind of food to attract birds or animals in the wild. While I didn't get what I went after, it was very peaceful sitting in the wilderness along a stream of running water, enjoying not only the hummingbirds but the many butterflies that show up after rains. That alone was worth the trip.

I did see a nice pair of Western Tanagers although not very close. I'll include a photo of them as well. So, here the's best (?).

Male Broad Billed at my Hummingbird Feeder

Female Broad Billed Hummingbird

I should look this bug up.

What I like about this photo is you get a nice look at the plumage on his back.

A Wildflower I should probably look up as well.

Back to Patton's in Patagonia

With the B&B, it is hard to get away this time of year for an extended photo trip. So, it ends up being a half day trip. This time I headed off to Patagonia. Today, photos from Patton's in Patagonia.

The Hummingbirds are starting to arrive, both those that pass through and those that stay for the summer. At Paton's I found: Anna's, Black Chinned, Broad Billed, Violet Crowned, Rufous, and Calliope. The Calliope was a male but too brief to photograph. Here are the better photos from Patton's:

Broad Billed Hummingbird Male

Violet Crowned Hummingbird

Northern Cardinal Male

Northern Cardinal Female

Checking in at Miller Canyon

Since Hummingbird Season has officially begun, I thought I would check out Miller Canyon (the US' best hummingbird spot) to see if any of the rarer hummers had arrived yet. The short answer is: SOME. I did find that the Blue Throated Hummingbirds had arrived as well as the White Eared Hummingbird. While I didn't get a good photo this time of the White Eared I got a few other photos I'll show you today. 

Female Blue Throated Hummingbird

Male Blue Throated Hummingbird

Male Broad Tailed Hummingbird

Male Broad Tailed Hummingbird

Male Magnificent Hummingbird (note his tongue)

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