Gordon's Birding Adventures: Hummingbird Bathing

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Hummingbird Bathing

Most weekends I try to make the most of my off time by going birding. Many times I travel the same areas that I have passed before, but it seems that everyday is a different adventure and today was one of those days. Mesquite Wash in Maricopa County, Arizona is an amazing place (especially if you get there on a day without a lot of campers and ATV riders), and this place holds an amazing diversity of wildlife. Currently there is a small stream of water passing through the wash, but in the heat of the summer, many times this water source is non-existent and the stream bed can be very dry. As I was walking downstream and trying to check out some of the little birds flitting in and out of the trees and brush along side of the stream and I was focusing on trying to get photos of a Warbling Vireo I also noticed a plain, non-descript hummingbird near the stream of water. So I starting focusing my attention on this little dynamic bundle of energy and was aware that it was attempting to bathe in the stream while it was still in flight mode. Many, but not all, female hummingbirds and juveniles can be very difficult to identify and at the time I witnessed this, I was not sure what species this one might be. However, once I got my photos processed I was able to determine this little gemstone was a juvenile Anna's Hummingbird. It was amazing to watch this small feathered creature flying down low to the water and dipping is feet and part of its lower body into the fast moving water and then fly out and go land on the nearby twig for a moment and then go back in for another dip. I have seen hummingbirds bathe in bird baths at times, but this was a first for me, to see one doing this out in the wild. Just really makes one appreciate the little things that nature has in store for us to admire. Below is a series of 4 photos of this little bird attempting to take a bath in a fast flowing stream.