Arizona Photography

 With surprisingly few birds at the San Pedro House today, I took more photos of birds I normally pay little attention to.  For example, Lesser Goldfinches are always quite numerous here, but are frequently on feeders that I try to avoid including in the shot.  I managed to spot a few males in trees, and one female, giving me a more desirable composition.  As usual, House Finches were well represented, so I snapped several of those, both female and male. When the Blue Grosbeaks showed up, I captured a female, a juvenile male and an adult male. One male Gila Woodpecker perched on an agave bloom stalk, trying to decide which flying bug to go after. Among the few hummingbirds around were mostly female Anna's, with one male Broad-billed at the feeder. The area around the pond had no birds at all, so I focused on a pink water lily.

 More hummingbirds.  Here are some of the prettier ones. The Lucifer Sheartail  male has a purple gorget that flares out on the sides, helping with identification.  Seen mostly in Mexico, it comes into the U.S. only in SE Arizona, SW New Mexico and extreme West Texas.  It is highly sought after by serious birders, and in Arizona is reliably found only in Ash Canyon.  Anna's Hummingbirds (males) have a brilliant red/orange gorget and crown.  More common along the west coast, they are found in Arizona and New Mexico year round. One of my favorites, the male Broad-billed Hummingbird has a dazzling array of colors all over its body.  The reddish bill is a distinctive feature that helps to ID this species. Another favorite, the Rufous Hummingbird is one of the smallest species, but is very feisty.  It will defend flowers or feeders by attacking much larger hummingbirds.  It has a large range, going as far north as SE Alaska during breeding season, then migrating south into Mexico for wi

 I hope you're not tired of hummingbird photos, because that's been my mainstay throughout August and September.  This is the hummingbird migration season for those that spent the summer here or parts north, when many of them return to Mexico or even farther south for the winter.  Adult Rufous hummingbirds have mostly departed already, leaving the females and juvenile males to follow later.  I really like the Rufous birds, not only because of their attractive colors, but because they are very cooperative for photography.  This batch may have both females and immature males, it's very difficult to tell them apart and it really doesn't matter.         The Black-chinned males have a beautiful purple gorget, but only in the right light.  Otherwise, it appears to be black.  The male Anna's hummingbirds have a bright red gorget and crown, but the immature males haven't fully developed those colors.  The females will eventually have a colorful gorget, but not the crown