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| Black Chinned Hummingbird |
Greetings all!!! This post is dated on May 5th, 2012 in Carr Canyon near Sierra Vista. There has been a reported sighting of a Lucifer Hummingbird near a secluded Bed and Breakfast. I went to find the place and discovered that no one was there....so I decided not to stay. So I moved onto a busier area in the Carr Canyon region. This hummingbird challenge is fun because you get to sit watching feeders and talking to people. It's probably one of the easier challenges once you find the place. The tricky part is finding the places and of course....the photography. Hummers are extremely fast. For me it's gotta be a legit sighting for it to count. And I need to observe the flight patterns etc for it to work.
Of course the trickier part still is the identification of the female hummer. Most of the females are tricky to distinguish from one another making me ponder the bigger question....."How do the males tell the females apart?"
While searching for the Lucifer, the Black Chinned Hummers flew around in great numbers. Most people consider these hummers to be "boring". To be honest, I think they are my favorite. And I think they are quite elegant.....so I hope I captured this small bird to show you all how beautiful he really is. If you look closer, you'll also notice just enough purple to give this little guy color.
But alas, I had already accomplished my goal of snapping shots of the Black Chinned Hummingbird. Where was the Lucifer???
A sudden burst of blue....AND LARGE....flew into my line of sight and at first I thought it may have been the Broad Billed Hummer. But on closer examination, I discovered the Magnificent Hummingbird!!!! It was on the list of "Must Sees!"
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| The Magnificent Hummingbird |
And this guy was quite large compared to the other hummers visiting the feeder......the chin up is blue with a longer black bill.
He disappeared rather quickly and I waited for awhile chatting with Mike at the Carr House. It was a nice afternoon in the cooler canyon breezes.
As I was getting ready to go home, the Magnificent came back and allowed me to capture several shots without flight involved. Here you can see the dark bill and darker blues and purples.
Are you looking to do some hummingbird investigation? Here are some hints that help me out while in the field. I like to wear bright red or blue shirts. It seems to call their names. Also find an area that hummers like to congregate around.....like canyons, bed and breakfasts, etc. Wherever there is a feeder, you'll find hummers:) Several birders bring their own feeders on trips to attract the hummingbirds to their cabin!!! Brilliant idea!
So to date, I've seen the Magnificent Hummingbird, Broad Billed Hummingbird, Black Chinned Hummingbird, Costa's Hummingbird and the Anna's Hummingbird.
And here's a visual review of what I've snapped....
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| Anna's Hummingbird |
The Anna's and Costa's Hummingbirds are year round residents here in Tucson. The Anna's have a pink head while the Costa's have a purple head.
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| Costa's Hummingbird |
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| Broad Billed Hummingbird |
And of course this is the Broad Billed Hummingbird. Orange bill and lighter blue tones. I'm still on the hunt for more interesting hummers. I have so many more to find and as the summer heats up, they'll be hanging out in the cooler areas around the feeders. Stay tuned for more from this series!
Cool pic. Found this online at this
blog. How many do you recognize?
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