The Chuparosa Challenge-Ru-Fee-OH-s!

Greetings all!  Here is another Chuparosa Challenge.  I'm far from done with this series. There's just a lot going on right now with nature and while I've been on the hunt for hummingbirds, other challenges come up as well as you will see.  It's all about the Rufous Hummingbird today.  All of the shots are female except for one.  These are a golden delight.  They also mark the beginning of migration and the end to our hummingbird season.  By mid October, most will be gone.

Male Rufous

The above pic is the male in all of his glory.  There were too many pics to choose from so I put all of them on for you to get a better look.  The hummingbird season was slow to start this year but picked up around the first week of September with the Rufous being the most numerous next to the Anna's, Broad Bill, and Magnificent.  The pics today were taken in Ash Canyon and Miller Canyon in the Huachuca mountains of Sierra Vista.

One of the questions I asked during this research was, "How do you know if the hummingbird  is Rufous or Allens?"  It's all in the tail feathers and sometimes it's extremely hard for the professionals to distinguish.  Mary Jo, of Ash Canyon B & B, was kind enough to take her time and show me pictures between the two species.   It also comes down to the green on the back. 

But for now let's look at the difference between the female and male Rufous.  The shot on the left is a clear view of the female.  Look at the gorget(throat area).  There is striping there.  The male has a full pink/orangish color along the gorget and if overall very golden. The male tail feathers are also more pointy. In a surprise post coming up, you'll have a two punch pic shot. But needless to say, the male Rufous made a strong appearance with another "Star".

They do make it into Tucson for brief appearances near the end of our summer.  I had one visit some flowers in our garden but most prefer the higher elevations.

Most winter in wooded areas in the Mexico state of Guerrero, traveling over 2,000 miles by an overland route from its nearest summer home.  This is of some concern to hummingbird specialists.  While hummingbirds are quite smart finding new areas to call home, it has been increasingly difficult to find areas where they can settle down.  With habitat loss in Mexico and our forest fires here, it's no surprise that hummingbirds have been challenged.

One of the things that keeps these birds alive and well is their ability to search out new places to nest and breed.  In their early years, juvenile hummers take a kind of "walkabout" and explore new places before returning to the group.  This has given them an edge in the bird world and in fact, some populations of the hummers have been growing!

Here's a new term for hummer lovers....or maybe not.  "Traplining"  Hummers feed by sight and will generally check out anything to see if it is a source of food. Many birds follow a regular route through their territory checking out the food sources several times daily. This behavior is called traplining.  So if you place hummingbird flowers in your garden, this will ensure they come to visit regularly:)

So there you have it.  More updates coming up on these amazing birds.  Below I have a pic demonstrating the differences between Allen's and Rufous hummingbirds courtesy of Sheri Williamson. 

Again, finding hummingbirds isn't difficult here as you just go to places with feeders.  What's difficult about this particular birding challenge is to keep your eye and lens on the target....especially when there are so many flying around.  But the conversations with people around the feeders has been truly a highlight as well.  There are older people who can't bird like they used to but still keep doing it from their chairs. These couples are in their 80's who take out their binoculars and share their experiences with us.  And for that I am grateful.

Female Rufous

Fall has officially begun after this weekends Greek Festival.  Bring on the cooler temps!

The Chuparosa Challenge-There's No Place Like Home

The Male Ruby Throat

Greetings all,

This was the post I was most worried wouldn't happen on vacation.  Many of you have just one hummingbird in your area, but would you be surprised to discover that it's the one hummingbird that doesn't come to Arizona?  And so for me, this post was critical since it was a challenge for myself.  Plus I love the title.  Yes today it's all about the Ruby Throated Hummingbird and hummingbird feeders.  While the pics aren't my hummingbird best, they'll do for this challenge considering this post almost never happened:)

I'm going to write about the experience as it was a true challenge.  People everywhere LOVE hummingbirds.  People buy feeders and place them up in different areas.  And what I'm about to share is my own personal experience with hummingbirds and it probably might be different for several of you.  My mother and I got into a little discussion about hummingbird feeders.  She had a fancy million dollar feeder that hasn't attracted any hummingbirds......and part of it may have to do with the fact that she hasn't switched the juice out for several weeks. 

Everyone had feeders out, but not a one was touched. I was losing time over the course of a week or so and it really came to the last day of our trip.  I think I would have been majorly disappointed had this post not happened.  In a panic, I purchased the cheap feeder because that's the one they love.  I've purchased the fancy dancy ones and they simply don't come to them.  The minute I purchased the cheap ones, I had hummingbirds all over my yard with 2 families nesting in our trees back in Tucson. They have become a part of the garden there....their cheep cheep....VROOOM!!!   None of it happening in TR!

Female Ruby Throat

On our trip, I placed my personal feeder to where I thought they would show up. Again, everyone had feeders and reported seeing one a week ago, etc. etc.  But it wasn't regular. This was like constipation for me after several days of eating cheese curds! So what was going on??!!!  I went to areas with my personal feeder and placed it everywhere and left if for days. Nothing.  Even more difficult was the absence of their voices around me.

So on my last day of vacation, on a visit to my Grandma's house near the woods.....I heard the sounds of the Ruby Throated Hummer!!!   If I told you how long I  sat waiting for this hummer to show up on my off time from family, you may have laughed.  This was serious business.  So I get to my Grandma's house and I see that she has 3 plain ol' feeders hanging off her deck.  While chatting with her, I had my camera ready on deck for this hummer.  Finally!!!  After almost a week and half, both male and female Ruby come and feed!!!!  I was so happy.  Grandmother knows best.  We sat discussing plain vs fancy hummingbird feeders and we both agreed that the fancy ones don't work.  While sitting, the hummers regularly came to visit and it was really really exciting. 

I think I understand why people get excited about hummers.  That one visit makes everyone smile....and the chance of seeing one on a feeder is amazing.  I don't take our hummers for granted but they are always around me 24/7....on my hikes, at my home....everywhere.  And they are all different.  But when you have only one species in your area....and it's the one you're looking for.....it really exposes me to how everyone feels about their one variety of hummer in most parts of the States and Canada.....special.  Now why this particular hummer doesn't come to Arizona and all the rest do???  Well it's their migration pattern.  They are spotted everywhere along the Eastern side of the country.  Some are spotted in Arizona once and awhile, but most cling to the cooler environments.  If you look at their migration patterns, you'll see a definite line from where the Ruby Throats travel. Link here

Beware of fancy dancy hummer feeders.  It may be attractive to the human eye but doesn't always attract the hummer.  This one was difficult to fill as well.  Plus you have to use a red dye.  Too much work!  And it hasn't attracted hummers to my parent's garden.

On my hummingbird guide for Arizona, this hummer isn't even in the book!!  So it was super important to get this one time sighting for this year on film.  Granted they aren't like my other hummingbird shots up close because Grandma does come first:)  But I did succeed in the challenge.  And the moral of the story.....go with the cheaper feeders.  You'll have more traffic.  My Grandma approves this message:)

A young 81!  She was my age when she became a Grandma.  In fact, I gave her the title:)!! That's the first nephew making her Great Grandma. 

The Chuparosa Challenge-A Crowning Achievement

During the last challenges, I spoke about idenityfing female hummingbirds and before that I wrote about the Magnificent hummer.  So, I thought I'd recap with closer Magnificent hummer shots that I was able to snap off at Ramsey Canyon.  Again, I was on the hunt to find a new hummer to add to my hummingbird list in North America. 

Magnificent Hummer

The Magnificent Hummer is everyone's favorite.  It's larger and much more colorful than the rest of the crew.  Well that's not true.  They all are pretty cool birds but this one strikes a chord with the birder audience.  If you head to the canyon areas this time of year, your chances for spotting this colorful number is pretty good.  So let me tell you about my experience for the day and introduce you to a new member that I can check off my list.  It sounds so cold.  Let me restate.  This is for my photo journal and one that I hope to see more of during the monsoon season:)

I really take all of our birds here for granted.  When I travel to other areas, I am expecting to see these little guys flying around all over.  And I miss their sounds. Cheep  cheep and VROOOM! past your head.  One of the things you may or may not like about birding are of course the people.  Some just go to look at birds and chat.  Some just want you to shut up and watch the birds.  I'm one of those who can do both.  The nice thing with hummingbird observation is that they'll come and feed while you're chatting.  The issue?  You may not be paying attention to capture them before they zoom off.  And this was my own personal challenge for the day.  So are you ready???  Here is our new member to add to our hummingbird family......The Violet-crowned Hummingbird!!!

This beauty is a rare find.  It reminds me of a dolphin with wings because of the very white gorget/frontal area.  It's also one of the easiest to identify of the species in both the male and female form.  Some of you may be surprised but I've actually seen this hummer here in midtown Tucson at our El Presidio gardens!!  Of course they were here only for the monsoon season in July and August.  It was unusual to see them and I remember them because of their white white front.  It wasn't our typical Anna, Costa's, or Black Chinned sightings. So I began to research and was introduced to this species several years ago when this blog first began. 

This particular hummer is really cool at hovering.  Thankfully I was able to spot him during my conversation with an Indiana woman.  She was so excited to see so many wonderful hummers and all of them were new for her.  So we spoke and I helped her identify them as they came to the feeders.  It was sad really because she only had so much time and had just discovered Ramsey Canyon.  Her husband was the Downer Debbie as he dragged her off to church.  He sat there bored out of his mind and reminded her that she had ten minutes left.  She had asked a question which was something like, "Can we come back here again?" No. "Is there any way?"  No.  Okay now.....church vs hummingbird viewing?  That's a no brainer for me.  Hummingbirds all the way!  If you believe, isn't God all around us? So aren't you kinda in church anyway?  Just saying.  Well he dragged her off and I felt bad for her.  I have a suspicion that if he hadn't been around, she would have played hooky with us.  Maybe he saw me as the Devil.  Speaking of the Devil, I am still searching for that elusive Lucifer!!!!!

The one thing that the lady from Indiana said as she watched the hummer show was how much diversity there was around the feeders here.  And then she said the line that many say from outside of Arizona. You know the one:) "All we have there are those Ruby Throated Hummingbirds."  And I replied, "At least you have those hummers in your area.  We don't have them here:)" I'll speak more about this in the upcoming weeks.  The Ruby Throated Hummer was not as easy a find as I thought when we were home in Wisconsin.  They have certain requirements:) But more on that later...

I continue shooting the hummers as they go to the feeders because I never know who will show up.  There was a report of the Plain Capped Starthroat in the area and at first, I thought I may have captured this hummer as well, but alas.....no.  I am conflicted.  There is a place where I know I'll find the bird but the owners are unusual and crazy and they use language I don't approve.  I will break down and try the place out though just to give you my perspective.  If I don't come back alive, you'll know why:)  Okay but back to this pic above.  If you look at the throat, you notice a patch of pink....or something.

Turns out this is a Female Anna's hummer.  On the next Chuparosa challenge, I'll speak about feeders, disagreeing with my mother:), and other interesting things.  My final post on Ramsey Canyon will be tomorrow.  I hope you enjoy it as it was the real gem of our visit.  And like always, more tomorrow.....