Join Sparky Stensaas in southeast Arizona in July for some birding and bird photography. Mount Lemmon, Box Canyon, Madera Canyon. Highlights include Elegant Trogon, Five-striped Sparrow, Varied Bunting, Lucifer Hummingbird, Botteri’s Sparrow, Hooded Oriole and much more.
Minnesota has incredible birds. In fact, many birds on American birder’s “Most Wanted” list occur here: Great Gray Owl, Northern Hawk Owl, Boreal Owl, Connecticut Warbler, etc. And I love the fact that in a few hours drive or less from home I can bird THREE MAJOR BIOMES—Tallgrass Prairie, Eastern Deciduous Forest, and Boreal Forest.
BUT at home in Minnesota we only have ONE HUMMINGBIRD species! The lovely but lonely Ruby-throated Hummingbird. The fact that southeast Arizona hosts about a dozen species (some are migrants) makes it America’s hummer hotspot and a wonderful reason to head to the heat.
I saw seven of the eight species that could be expected in SE Arizona in July. I only missed Costa’s Hummingbird in the wild. (But I did see Costa’s and Rufous in the aviary in the Sonoran Desert Museum)
SEVEN species seen at feeders or while out hiking…
Lucifer Hummingbird (Dave Jasper’s yard in Portal; Also Foothills Road near Portal)
Violet-crowned Hummingbird (Beatty’s Miller Canyon Orchard & Apiary near Sierra Vista; Also Paton’s Hummingbird Sanctuary in Patagonia)
Broad-billed Hummingbird (most widespread: Beatty’s Miller Canyon Orchard & Apiary near Sierra Vista; Paton’s Hummingbird Sanctuary in Patagonia; Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Sanctuary; etc)
Broad-tailed Hummingbird (a high-elevation specialist: Palisade Ranger Staton on Mt. Lemmon near Tucson; Rustler Park at over 8,000 feet near Patagonia in the Chiricauhuas)
Blue-throated Hummingbird (only at Cave Creek Ranch near Patagonia)
Black-chinned Hummingbird (Beatty’s Miller Canyon Orchard & Apiary near Sierra Vista; Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Sanctuary)
Rivoli’s Hummingbird (formerly Magnificent Hummingbird) (Palisade Ranger Staton on Mt. Lemmon near Tucson; Beatty’s Miller Canyon Orchard & Apiary near Sierra Vista)
Two captive species
Costa’s Hummingbird (only in captivity at the Sonoran Desert Museum aviary near Tucson)
Rufous Hummingbird (only in captivity at the Sonoran Desert Museum aviary near Tucson)
You can see the restricted range for these hummingbirds from these MAPS from http://www.allaboutbirds.org. Most don’t get much farther north than southeast Arizona.
Range map of Violet-crowned Hummingbird (pink is breeding only)
LUCIFER HUMMINGBIRD
Male Lucifer Hummingbird! I’ve never had such a close look at this U.S. rarity. This male and the female below were coming to Dave Jasper’s yard just outside of Portal. [Dave Jasper’s yard in Portal, AZ]And here’s the female Lucifer. Note her LOOONG neck, curved bill. [Dave Jasper’s yard in Portal, AZ]I even found my own Lucifer “in the wild.” This female was feeding along Foothills Road just outside of Portal.
Lucifer Hummingbird belongs to a group of hummingbird species called “sheartails,” named for their deeply forked, narrow tail.
Mainly a bird of Mexico, the Lucifer is quite rare in the U.S so a real treat for us birders!
Unlike other hummingbirds, the male Lucifer Hummingbird performs its displays at the nest of a female.
Occasionally also seen in the Big Bend region of Texas.
BLUE-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD
Blue-throated Hummingbird is the largest hummers in southeast Arizona. It was also the least common (next to the rare Lucifer). I onlysaw them in one spot…Cave Creek Ranch near Portal.
This Lampornis species is really a member of the Mountain-Gem genus, so they may be renamed to “Blue-throated Mountain-Gem” in the future.
Blue-throated are the largest hummingbird in North America, weighing 3x more than a Ruby-throated Hummer
Males do not have an aerial display like most hummingbirds. Instead they have several vocalizations that they use in courtship.
They will mob birds much larger than themselves…even Goshawks! Several may work together to drive them away.
Oldest recorded Blue-throated lived at least 7 years and 11 months.
VIOLET-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRD
Violet-crowned Hummingbird is easy to identify by its large size, thin neck, white throat and belly, and violet-blue crown. You can see in this photo how much larger it is than the hovering Broad-billed. [Beatty’s Miller Canyon Apiary & Orchard **RARE AT THIS LOCATION]THE place to go to see Violet-crowned Hummingbirds is Paton’s Hummingbird Sanctuary in Patagonia, Arizona. This was the Paton’s private residence when I first stopped here in 1994. Wally and ?? faithfully filled their multiple feeders daily and allowed birders to come into their yard and watch. They even put up a canopy and folding chairs so we could watch in comfort. It was under this canopy in 1994 that I got my lifer Violet-crowned Hummer. After the Paton’s passed away, donations from and other birders and birding organization allowed Tucson Audubon to purchase the house and lot. They have built a new permanent canopy for hummer watching, put in an amazing array of flower gardens and water features, and even a trail system.Violet-crowned Hummingbird [Beatty’s Miller Canyon Apiary & Orchard **RARE AT THIS LOCATION]
Rivoli’s Hummingbird (the hummer formerly known as Magnificent) is a large and brightly-colored hummer. I was split into two species in 2017 and unfortunately did not retain its former Magnificent Hummingbird name (insert sad face here!).The magnificent Rivoli’s Hummingbird. [Palisade Ranger Station on Mt. Lemmon near Tucson]I knew this hummingbird as the Magnificent Hummingbird when I first added it to my life list in 1994. Its name was changed in 2017 to Rivoli’s Hummingbird in honor of the Duke of Rivoli, an amateur ornithologist (Anna’s Hummingbird is named after the Duke’s wife…the Duchess of Rivoli). Magnificent was split into two species…Rivoli’s in the U.S. and Mexico…and Talamanca Hummingbird in Costa Rica The magnificent Rivoli’s Hummingbird. [Palisade Ranger Station on Mt. Lemmon near Tucson]
One of the highest heart-rates of any vertebrate…420 to 1200 beats per minute!
An 11-year old bird (!) was banded in Arizona
A hummingbird flower mite uses the Rivoli’s Hummingbird for transport: hiding in the birds’ nasal passages until they can jump off at a subsequent flower patch.
Known as Magnificent Hummingbird from the 1980s until 2017.
Named for the Duke of Rivoli who was an amateur ornithologist.
BROAD-BILLED HUMMINGBIRD
Though the Broad-billed Hummingbird is one of the most wide-spread hummers in SE Arizona, I also think it is one of themes stunning. Its body is covered in iridescent feathers and it has a bright red bill. From this photo angle you can really see why it is named “Broad-billed.” [Dave Jasper’s yard in Portal, AZ]Broad-billed Hummingbird maleBroad-billed Hummingbird maleBroad-billed Hummingbird maleBroad-billed Hummingbird maleBroad-billed Hummingbird male
Broad-billed Hummingbirds that nest in Arizona are migratory; populations in Mexico are resident year-round in their breeding range.
The male Broad-billed Hummingbird performs a courtship display, starting by hovering about a foot from the female and then flying in repeated arcs, like a pendulum.Broad-billed Hummingbirds that nest in Arizona are migratory; populations in Mexico are resident year-round in their breeding range.
BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD
Black-chinned Hummingbird male shows a relatively narrow band of iridescent purple above its throat.In poor lighting or shade, the Black-chinned Hummingbird really appears to have a black chin.Black-chinned Hummingbird male [Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Sanctuary near Patagonia, Arizona]Black-chinned Hummingbird male [Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Sanctuary near Patagonia, Arizona]
The Black-chinned Hummingbird’s tongue has two grooves; nectar moves through these via capillary action, and then the bird retracts the tongue and squeezes the nectar into the mouth. It extends the tongue through the nearly closed bill at a rate of about 13–17 licks per second
This is one of the most adaptable of all hummingbirds, often found in urban areas and recently disturbed habitat as well as pristine natural areas.
Along good stretches of some southern Arizona and southern New Mexico rivers, nests may be found every 100 meters or so
BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD
Broad-tailed HummingbirdYoung male Broad-tailed HummingbirdFemale Broad-tailed Hummingbird spotlit by setting sun. [Palisade Ranger Station on Mt. Lemmon]Female Broad-tailed checking out an arriving male. [Palisade Ranger Station on Mt. Lemmon]Broad-tailed Hummingbird females at feeders at Palisade Ranger Station on Mt. Lemmon near Tucson.Broad-tailed Hummingbird showing off its “zing-makers.” Air passing through the spread wing feathers make a high-pitched zzziiinngg. They are a hummer of higher elevations. This one was photographed at 8,000 feet at the Palisade Ranger Station on Mt. Lemmon.
The longest-lived Broad-tailed Hummingbird was a female, and over 12 years, 2 months old, when she was recaptured and rereleased during a banding operation in Colorado in 1987. She had been banded in the same state in 1976.
Male Broad-tailed Hummingbirds produce a loud metallic “zzzinnggg” trill with their wingtips as they fly, but over time the feathers that produce this sound wear down from use. By midwinter the trill is often inaudible.
They breed at elevations up to 10,500 feet (!!), where nighttime temperatures regularly plunge below freezing. To make it through a cold night, they slow their heart rate and drop their body temperature, entering a state of torpor.
Sometimes they use sap as a nectar substitute, visiting sapwells excavated by Red-naped Sapsuckers.
RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD
Rufous Hummingbird male [Sonoran Desert Museum aviary]Rufous Hummingbird male [Sonoran Desert Museum aviary]I’ll end with an artsy “high-key” image of a foraging hummer at Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Sanctuary near Patagonia
During my brief stay in Portal, I birded multiple biomes….from mountain pine forest (at elevation 8,400 feet!) to low elevation Chihuahuan Desert scrub. The desert was most alien to this Minnesota boy, and maybe that was its strong appeal. It was also easier to see and photograph the critters than in the wooded habitats.
Foothills Road is very near Portal and a great place to explore at dawn and dusk. Midday is quiet due to the heat. On this road I had great looks at Scott’s Oriole, Cactus Wren, Gambel’s Quail, Scaled Quail, Verdin, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, Lesser Nighthawk (dusk), Desert Cottontail and Black-tailed Jackrabbit.
Stateline Road is another great birding road. New Mexico will be on the east and Arizona on the west side of the road. Stop at Willow Tank and bird this water feature as well. I saw Loggerhead Shrike, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Curve-billed Thrasher, Greater Roadrunner, Chihuahuan Raven and possibly a Kit Fox (just a long-tailed blur running across the road).
Chihuahuan Desert vistas look bleak and lifeless…but they are anything but. Birds, mammals, insects and reptiles thrive in this desert.Yellow Bird of Paradise shrub (Caesalpinia gilliesii) has a stunning flower with 3-4 inch long red stamens. Yellow Bird of Paradise shrub (Caesalpinia gilliesii) is a native of South America but naturalized in Arizona where it can be found growing wild along roads and in other disturbed areas. It is also grown in gardens.Verdin is a tiny, yellow-faced bird of desert scrub.Scott’s Oriole in Ocotillo. We don’t think of orioles in the desert, but the Scott’s is right at home in arid Chihuahuan scrub desert.The male Scott’s Oriole is one of our only yellow orioles. No orange for this guy!The Scaled Quail is encountered far less often than its Gambel’s cousin. It is also found at lower elevations in the shrub scrub.I was extremely excited to find this Round-tailed Horned Lizard along the Foothills Road after dark. These little guys are only about 3 inches long. It was a lifer and is my third species of Horned Lizard that I’ve seen (joining Texas Horned Lizard and Northern Horned Lizard on my life list).Ocotillo at sunsetOcotillo at sunsetMy first non-feeder Lucifer Hummingbird! I have seen Lucifers at hummingbird feeders several times before but this was the only one I’ve seen out in “the wild.” This is a female (note her white chin and yellow throat).Greater Roadrunner on the hunt for lizards at dawn.For some reason it seems like I’m always shooting into the sun when I take Roadrunner photos. But it gives the birds a neat rim light (also see photo below).Greater Roadrunner getting ready to make good on its name and run on a road.Along Foothills Road at dawn I found this male Gambel’s Quail greeting the morning by singing his heart out from the top of an Agave.Unlike many birds who live only in one habitat, the Gambel’s Quail can be found from Chihuahuan Desert scrub up to higher elevations in wooded forests.Gambel’s Quail callingFoothills Road near Portal, Arizona passes through prime Chihuahuan Desert and is great birding. Best to bird it at dawn and dusk, and park the car and walk.Prickly Pear cactus was in full bloom. This cactus was over 7 feet tall! A related species grows in southwest Minnesota but rarely even reaches 18 inches tall.Yuccas are a characteristic plant of Chihuahuan Desert scrub. This is in New Mexico just north-northeast of Portal, Arizona.Black-tailed Jackrabbits are most active in early morning and towards dusk (when this photo was taken).Can you find the Black-tailed Jackrabbit?This little bundle of energy is the Black-tailed Gnatchatcher. It is a tiny sprite of a bird that lives in open desert scrub.At 103 degrees, everybody needs to drink! Greater Roadrunner at Willow Tank.Don’t overlook the Chiricahua Desert Museum just N of Rodeo, New Mexico and east of Portal. It is an eclectic reptile-themed museum with world class snake exhibits and an outdoor plant and reptile exhibit.The exhibits of the live Rattlesnakes (many species!) are impressive. They were made by a professional Hollywood set designer for Michael Jackson (yes, that Michael Jackson). But Michael changed his mind and the museum benefited.The outdoor exhibit at the Chiricahua Desert Museum. Lizards run free here….if you can find them. Native plants are labeled as well.
November 11, 2021
Sparky Stensaas
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