Until Next Year

I thought I'd close out with two final posts of our hummingbirds before moving into the grasslands of Southern Arizona......and I'll revisit them as they appear in other outings over the winter.  Tomorrow's post is exciting as it shows all the hummers together spotted from the various hummingbird observations made in spring until now.

A fond farewell to our little friends in Southern Arizona.  Safe journeys. 

The Chuparosa Challenge-When You Wish Upon a Star

 It had been a long summer of chasing a dream.  One that would drive me mad until the goal was achieved.  The shots today are not anything special....or are they?  At first glance, the male Rufous hummingbird shines bright and true.  "You'll know it when you see it."

"You'll know it when you see it."  I kept repeating that line over and over.  I certainly saw the Rufous and his golden glow in the sunlight. But hello there.....who are you to the far left?

"You'll know it when you see it."  I went to every canyon for you and suffered bites all over my body....and not find you.  I look for you in the middle of nowhere and almost got killed by illegal crossers.  I even gave up on you. 

"You'll know it when you see it."  A man doing a "Big Year" came to find you and he did.  I missed you by minutes one day.  Many people missed you and waited and searched and searched for you.

I thought I had seen you once.  I submitted your photo to the rare bird gurus and they told me that I'd know you when I saw you.  I had a picture of something else.   Do I glance you now on the feeder?  Larger than the rest.  Please stay long enough so that I can get a clear shot.  You are the final hummingbird to see for this season.

And I do spy you behind that feeder.  Please come out more.  I know you'll only be around for a very short time. 

Do you know how many nights I couldn't sleep until I found you?

And in your grand shadow and starry gorget I only hope to see you clearly.

Please let the other hummers stop chasing you off.  My heart is beating as fast as yours right now.

And then you chase a female off showing your white feathered back......

......your profile shows the long dark bill.........

......the feeder shows me that you are very large for a hummingbird.......

.......and your gorget shows a dark thick streak of pink........and I know that I've finally found you.  Like a great finale to a beloved TV series, I sigh and smile sharing the briefest of inner applauses inside my head.  I did it!  I spotted you.....you rare rare Plain Capped Starthroat.

I have moved from beginner to low intermediate birder. But please don't quiz me on my buntings, sparrows, or other little bitty flycatchers:)  I'm still studying this group and many others. Today ends the Chuparosa(Hummingbird) challenge for this year.  It was exciting.  Frustrating.  And always educational.  On this day I would suffer over a hundred chigger bites on my feet waiting for this bird.  It was the worst pain that I've felt for this year.  But the price was well worth it.  Two more posts on hummingbirds.  One which includes this years photography stats.  I hope you enjoy the shots.  They were collected from many many hours of observations.  I'd like to thank Warren for planting this series into my brain.  Because of this challenge, I discovered many of our beautiful canyons and just how unique they all are.  I'll be moving into the grasslands soon with Kathie.  Just a few of the many bloggers who inspire me to be a better person everyday.  Thank you all for your own work from your part of the world. More tomorrow.....

The Chuparosa Challenge-Cool Blue

Hey hey hey!  I'm back with another Chuparosa update.  Soon the hummingbird season will be over.  By mid October, most of our summer migrants will be gone.  But before they do leave us, I thought I'd share with you the Blue Throated Hummingbird.

This hummingbird is a giant in the world of hummers.  When I look at this particular bird, two thoughts come to my mind.  One.  The body is shaped in an awkward fashion. and Two.  When we think of hummingbird flight patterns, this is the species we tradionally think of when a hummingbird flies.  It definitely moves much more differently than its peers. 

During this photo shoot search, I spotted this hummer in all canyons along the running streams of the Huachuca mountains.  If there aren't streams nearby, you may have a difficult time spotting this particular hummer.  Today's photos are from the CAS at Beatty's Orchards in Miller Canyon.

Lots of people will sometimes get excited at seeing a blue throated hummingbird and incorrectly label the juvenile male Broad Bill hummer as a Blue Throat Hummer. 

But the markings are very clear and the bird is rather large compared to its counterparts.  I spotted this bird during the last week of August. I had never been to the CAS at Miller Canyon so it was a real treat to sit there and watch the amazing numbers of hummers fly around us.   There was a running stream nearby the hill as we climbed to the top and sat on the bleachers.  Very cool.

It can be difficult picking out hummers at times with the flight frenzy that goes on, but this hummer is easy to pick out.  But be careful not to confuse the Magnificent hummers with this guy.  They are about the same size.

I love how this one curves to the side as it hovers. The shot below captures that movement as it backs away from the feeders.

This bird had been difficult for me to find.  I knew it was definitely at Beatty's but I had old tires on my car that had to be replaced making it difficult for me to get to the top of the canyon on that rocky dirt road.  Once they were replaced, it was the first place with went. 

On this particular rainy day, we'd find them in Carr, Miller, and Ramsey. I have one more surprise for everyone and then a stat update with each hummingbird found featured.  But on this particular day, a trek up Miller Canyon would also prove exciting thanks to a bird tip from a hiker.  Hint.  It has to do with the header of Las Aventuras. More tomorrow....

Summer's Eve

One last big hurrah for the monsoon.  As September nears the end so does the monsoon season....officially.  During this hike storm clouds quickly built up around me.  And all of it during sunset. 

These pics were taken from downtown Tucson along the Santa Cruz wash.

When I look at an Arizona sky, I many times lose myself within the clouds.

This year for me, it's a happy/sad thing.  I'm glad the heat is going away but I'll also miss all the summer visitors we get during our hot days.   But I won't miss the mosquito bites.

Juvenile Hummer

This has been a spectacular year for butterflies.  September is the high month for all of these beautiful insects.

I'll continue my Chuparosa challenge into next year or whenever a new species presents themselves again.   And it could be here or elsewhere in the Americas through travel.

So for now, I'm enjoying visits from the butterflies around our gardens here at El Presidio.  And I think I'm ready for October:)

Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly

PS.  Sorry if you thought I'd talk about the female product known as Summer's Eve.  We won't do that here at Las Aventuras.  That deserves its own blog:) I'll be back again today reading everyone's blogs.  I was with Kathie birding yesterday with some of the most epic finds and we had a blast.  Unfortuneatly I didn't get home until late and therefore wasn't able to get any blogging done.  More tomorrow...

The Chuparosa Challenge-Devil's Play

I think you may have been waiting for an update, yes???  Well this blogger has much up his sleeves:)  How did I have so much time to do all of this?  Well, TV is pretty bad these days and life is pretty exciting. And there's a whole lot more fun outside than inside. What I want to know is how I can do all this walking and not lose weight!!!???  So the Devil???

Well if you haven't guessed it yet, I found another gem in the hummingbird world at Ash Canyon!  The name is Lucifer.  Or another name for Satan.  If this is what Satan looks like, I may be tempted to join in on the fun:)  But come to find out....it has nothing to do with the Red Guy at all.

In Latin, lucifer means "light-bearing" and was applied in Old English to the morning star. Thus, when William Swainson named the Lucifer Hummingbird in 1827 he might have been thinking of the luminous glow of its colors. The male Lucifer's outer tail feathers are hard and narrow, and hum loudly during aerial displays. He performs a zigzagging dance to attract females and repel other males.

One of the distinguishing features of this hummer is the decurved (downward-curving) bill.  Reminds me of a Depeche Mode video or a distant relative the Ibis:)  Another new word for hummer fans to add to their must know lists....gorget, swording, and decurved:)

On this particular day, the hummingbirds were out in high numbers meaning they were EVERYWHERE!!!  Not just the Lucifer but lots of other species. August and September are the high months for hummers to migrate through Arizona to get to Mexico and Central America for winter.

When I saw this guy, I nearly flipped.  I wasn't expecting him as I was looking for the Rufous.  So as you can imagine....it was quite the treat:)

Many times I'll go out on the Rare Bird Alert site for New Mexico and Arizona to help me zone in on the hot areas for birds and then just go.  In fact, I went this day again looking for the Starthroat and ended up with most excellent finds:)  But will I ever find the Starthroat??!!

By the end of this challenge, I feel like I will be able to write a paper on these birds.  It has been a wonderful adventure into a world of exciting and colorful birds. Birding with hummers isn't difficult at all and the people who bird for hummers are always interesting.  The most hiking I have done for a hummingbird mission was in Montosa Canyon for that elusive Plain Capped Starthroat:)

Agave blooms on the hills and in the canyons are the preferred foods for most hummers like the Lucifer.  Plus there is a plentiful collection of bugs this time of year for them to do their "hawking". 

There will be more on the Chuparosa searches.  I'm not done yet:)  Remember I have written these posts back in August and I'm at the high point of hummer season:)  A special "thank you" to Mary Jo for the telephone conversations and info about these hummingbirds.  More tomorrow....