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

I Did it Again

Okay, call me nuts, but this is the end of the summer hummingbird season. Most will be gone soon; especially the rare ones like Lucifer. So, I went out again yesterday to try to get some more Lucifer photos. The Lucifers were certainly more frequent visitors to the feeders at the Ash Canyon B&B (maybe every 20 minutes). Still, once they finish feeding they buzz-off to a far away tree, unlike the more common and more plentiful hummers. Never saw a male Lucifer in a tree, but did get the female:

Lucifer Hummingbird, Female

And, although just a tad out of focus, the male in flight:

Lucifer Hummingbird, Male

There were a couple of Rufous Hummingbirds both male and female. Never got a good photo of the male, though. Just couldn't get close enough. But the female was constantly showing off:

Rufous Hummingbird, Female

And, a Broad Billed Hummingbird also posed nicely for me:

Broad Billed Hummingbird, Male

After four hours I went back to Miller. That's for tomorrow.

The Devil and Ash Canyon

The last remaining Hummingbird of those found in Arizona was the Lucifer. I have looked for it a couple of times with no success. But, my trip to Ash Canyon was a success. The female Lucifer came to a feeder within five minutes of the time I arrived at the Ash Canyon B&B. She was only there for about 30 seconds and then gone. The male Lucifer came about five minutes later. He stayed for about 30 seconds as well, and then he was gone. I remained for a little over an hour but neither returned. I was able to get some nice photos though:

Female Lucifer Hummingbird

Male Lucifer Hummingbird

Male Lucifer and Female Broad Tailed Hummingbirds

So, my search is complete. I will still try to get better photos. And, I'll try to replace "feeder" photos with more natural ones. We have five common hummingbird species here at The Azure Gate: Anna's, Broad Tail, Broad Bill, Calliope (less frequent), and Costa's. While we seldom see a Black Chin here, it is often found in large numbers all over the Southern Arizona Mountain Ranges. The Rufous is not abundant anywhere but a treat when found.  The Starthroat at Paton's was beautiful (as is the Violet Crowned). The Lucifer here in Ash Canyon was quite unique with its extremely long curved bill and much longer gorget than any other hummer. Seeing the Magnificent, White Eared, and Blue Throat at Miller Canyon although usually  reliable in the summer is still exciting. But seeing the Berylline there was special; as was the Ruby Throat whose range is primarily in the East. The only ones left un-photographed are the Allen's found only on the Southern California Coast, the Violet Green-Eared and the Buff Bellied found only in the Southernmost tip of Texas. 

The Star of the Show

My good friend Susie Nishio, who like me loves to photograph birds, sent me an email two days ago that a Plain Capped Starthroat (hummingbird) had been seen at Patton's in Patagonia. So yesterday I headed out right after breakfast and after about an hour look who showed up:

Plain Capped Starthroat (female)

In the first photo you get a good look at the plumage. The metallic bronze on the wings and white on the back is very unique and very elegant. You can see the lightning bolt white streak on the head. In the second photo you got a nice look at the tail which is stunning. The Plain Capped Starthroat is quite large (5 inches) and dwarfs the other hummers. (the Blue Throat and Magnificent are also large but are usually found at higher elevations). At Paton's in Patagonia the other hummers were all in the 3.5 to 4.00 range, so it was easy to find him when he came by. He didn't stay long at the feeders. He went straight to a feeder, drank, and then immediately flew into a tree. The Plain Capped Starthroat feeds on both nectar and insects.

RAPTORS: XVI

Today, it is the less common raptors I have been able to photograph:

Broad Wing Hawk 

Photo taken in Alberta, Canada

The Broad Wing Hawk summers over most of eastern North America and as far west as Alberta in the north and Texas in the south. They migrate south to winter from Mexico to Brazil. There are some subspecies that are found year round in the Caribbean.  Broad-wing Hawks live almost entirely in forested areas, with even migratory birds choosing only wooded areas to roost in. They are seemingly indifferent to the type of forest used either for breeding or wintering. During days with favorable winds, enormous kettles of tens of thousands of Broad-wings can be seen along flyways.

These birds hunt by sitting on a perch and watching for prey, and have been described as "cat-like" while stalking. When prey becomes apparent, they swoop down to the forest floor after it. Rarely, they will also fly in search of prey. The diet is variable, but small mammals are the most regular prey.

  

Rough Legged Hawk (female)

Photo taken in Central British Columbia

The Rough Legged Hawk winters in most of the US with the exception of the Southeast. It migrates in the summer to the Arctic. Typically it breeds on cliffs, slopes or in trees.  It hunts over open land, eating small mammals and carrion. This species, along with the Osprey and White Tail Kite is one of the few large birds of prey to hover regularly. The female plumage has much more white than the male, making it easy to distinguish from the male. Like several of the hawks (Rough Legged, Ferruginous, Red Tail) there is a light morph and a dark morph. The dark morph is common in the East but uncommon in the West.  

White Tail Kite

Photo taken in Northern California

The plumage on the White Tail Kite is much like a tern or gull. But the similarities end there. It is a deadly accurate predator feeding primarily on rodents. They are readily seen patrolling or hovering over lowland scrub or grassland. Since they are not bird eaters, other birds ignore them. They roost in communal groups of up to 100. The White-tailed Kite became nearly extinct in California in the 1930s and 1940s from hunting but they are now common again. Their distribution is patchy, however – they can be seen in the Central Valley (where this one was photographed), southern coastal areas, and also around San Francisco Bay They are also found in southern Texas, on the Baja Peninsula, and in eastern Mexico. 

Raptors: XVI

My apologies, for missing my posts the last three days. It's the holiday and we had a full house, including our nephew and his wife. But, I've got a bit of a break this morning (it's 5:30) so I'll see if I can get a blog in. Peregrine Falcons are one of the most widespread birds on the planet being found on every continent accept Antarctica. They are stunning to look at and watch. Peregrine Falcons are one of the fastest of all nature's creatures reaching speeds of 200 miles per hour.  Their diet is made up of mid-sized birds for the most part. They have large eyes and very large talons. The draw for them here is (since there is not a lot of water) is mourning doves. Like pigeons in urban areas, the mourning dove probably makes up a significant percentage of its diet. It requires open space in order to hunt, and therefore often hunts over open water, marshes, valleys, ponds, fields, desert, and tundra. It searches for prey either from a high perch or from the air. Once prey is spotted, it begins its stoop, folding back the tail and wings, with feet tucked. The air pressure from a 200 mph dive could possibly damage a bird's lungs, but small bony tubercles on a falcon's nostrils guide the powerful airflow away from the nostrils, enabling the bird to breathe more easily while diving by reducing the change in air pressure. To protect their eyes, the falcons use their third eyelids to spread tears and clear debris from their eyes while maintaining vision. Prey is struck and captured in mid-air; the Peregrine Falcon strikes its prey with a clenched foot, stunning or killing it, then turns to catch it in mid-air. The Peregrine will drop it to the ground and eat it there if it is too heavy to carry. Prey is plucked before consumption.

Peregrine Falcon taken here at The Azure Gate in Tucson

Peregrine Falcon taken at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge

The Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge is one of my favorite birding spots. It is in the Sacramento Valley and so has many large shallow ponds. It's a haven for waterbirds, and thus birders. Because it attracts thousands of ducks, it is also a haven for the Peregrine Falcon. Christine and watched as this one sat on this telephone pole eyeing which duck he wanted. He then swooped down to one of the ponds, the ducks took off, and like lightening chased and then caught a duck in midair.  

The Peregrine Falcon has been used in falconry for more than 3,000 years, beginning with nomads in central Asia. Due to its ability to dive at high speeds, it was highly sought-after and generally used by experienced falconers.  Also, because it could be trained, Peregrine Falcons have been occasionally used to scare away birds at some airports where there were frequent bird-plane strikes, thus improving air-traffic safety. And, they were used to intercept homing pigeons during World War II.

Raptors: XV

Still a few more raptors. This time the Harrier Hawk. The first photo is one I took about 15 years ago. It was my first "Award Winning Photo." Christine and I were driving in Northeastern Oregon on our way to Joseph, Oregon. This was truly "god's country" with very small towns (no traffic lights) and mostly farm land. When I took this photo I didn't think it would turn out. But, as I have said, sometimes after you develop the film you are pleasantly surprised (and occasionally disappointed).

The Harrier Hawk is unique in that the sexes have different colorations. The male is grey with a clean white underside. The female is brown with a barred underside. The following photo clearly shows the male coloration pattern:

The Harrier Hawk is usually seen coursing low over fields looking for small mammals (or birds). It then suddenly pounces on its prey and eats on the spot. It does not (often) take its food into a tree like the Cooper's or Sharp Shinned Hawks. That may be because there usually aren't trees around. Although, as you can see from the next photo that isn't always the case. He wasn't in the tree long as he returned to coursing.