Decided to focus on 2 groups of birds on my first post from southern Arizona; Hummingbirds and Woodpeckers. Larry Morgan from Paton's in Patagonia, AZ met me in Sonoita, AZ and we headed to a couple of hot hummingbird spots near Sierra Vista, AZ. We drove through pouring rain almost all the way there and by the time we got to our first destination which was Ash Canyon B & B, the rain had almost stopped. I had never been to this wonderful spot before and now that I have been there, I most certainly want to go back. Mary Jo has a wonderful set up of hummingbird feeders and other feeders and the quantity of hummingbirds was simple awesome! We counted 8 species at the feeders in just about an hour. someone before us had counted 10 species and they are all over the place. Of the 8 species we saw, 2 of them were new life birds for me; the Lucifer Hummingbird and the Plain-capped Starthroat. Both of these birds are not easy to find in the United States. Lucifer Hummingbird is a gorgeous bird with a long curved bill and a vibrant purple gorget. The Plain-capped Starthroat is not as colorful as some hummers, but it is one of the largest hummer to be seen in the United States. You can notice the size difference in the photo below. Also included are photos of the Magnificent Hummingbird, which is another large hummer and also a photo of a Broad-billed Hummingbird with its red bill tipped in black.
Lucifer Hummingbird
Plain-capped Starthroat on the far right
Magnificent Hummingbird
Broad-billed Hummingbird
The next group of birds are a couple of species of woodpeckers; the Ladderback Woodpecker and the Acorn Woodpecker. And for both of these species I am including photos of both the males and the females. The first set is a male and female Ladderback Woodpecker, the male has the red on the crown whereas the female does not.
Ladderback Woodpecker-Male
Ladderback Woodpecker-Female
The last set of photos are that of the Acorn Woodpecker and along with the male and female photos, I am also including a photo of a juvenile. The difference between a male and female is that the female has a black bar on the crown between the white and the red. The male does not has this black bar.
Acorn Woodpecker-Male
Acorn Woodpecker-Female
Acorn Woodpecker-Juvenile
And the 3rd photo of the juvenile readily shows that the full black and red colors have completely developed. Also note the dark eye in the juvenile compared to the white iris in the adults.
What a great start to a wonderful day of birds! Next up: Miller's Canyon.
Wow Gordon! That's an awesome spot indeed, and you got some of the best shots I've seen of this pair.
ReplyDeletePhotos spectactular. My sole experience with the Lucifer hummingbird was sadly one sole male, found in the birdbath, a victim of an aggression by our common local hummers that fight over the feeder. I wish I could have stopped the "fight". That L. hummer was like a jewel, simply fantastic.
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