Magnificent Hummingbird Morning

On Saturday I took a drive down to Boulder/Golden to see the lingering Magnificent Hummingbird that has been hanging out at a private residence.  Adam, the gracious hummingbird host, gave excellent directions and provided some wonderful insight to the bird before she showed up to the feeder.  

Luckily I was greeted on three separate occasions with her feeding on the deck in addition to watching her perch on nearby trees and performing some insect acrobatics.

I was struck by her size, her energy, and though it was great for me to see her, I do hope she gets the message that she should be heading south.  

The Magnificent Hummingbird shared feeder time with a group of Hairy Woodpeckers.  Though I was surprised to see her chase off one woodpecker and take back control of the nectar.  Of course when you're a hummingbird the size of a chickadee you can chase off larger birds.  I don't claim any amazing photographic efforts but I did love the photo below with her landing gear out as she goes in for a perch spot.

Adam's yard wasn't just hummers and woodpeckers.  I saw this friendly Mountain Chickadee, who graced the railing on multiple trips to and from the nearby seed feeder.

Overall it was a great morning on the Adam's deck soaking in a lovely lifer and observing all the other bird behavior.  The following birds were seen in my one hour visit: Magnificent Hummingbird, Mountain Chickadee, Townsend's Solitaire, Hairy Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Common Raven, Dark-eyed Junco, Clark's Nutcracker, House Finch, Cassin's Finch, and Brown Creeper.

Thanks Adam for sharing your beautiful deck and this lovely bird.  

Hummingbirds Like It Rough

One of my favorite parts about going up to the family's Grand Lake cabin is watching the hummingbirds in the summer.  As the summer days have faded and my first Colorado winter approaches, I decided to show you a little bit of the action seen from the cabin deck back in August.  The feeders were lively and these little red devils gave me a sneak peak at what all the fuss was about.

If you look at that next to last photo again, you'll see the feathers ruffled as the male pokes his beak into the back of her head.  This happened again and again as he frantically mated with her.  It was quite the dance and all the time she ignored him and continued feeding.  Only after numerous jabs, she finally set off like a bullet and he returned to his nearby perch, standing guard to run interference with rival males or take advantage of feeding females.

Rufous Hummingbird

It's a little late in the season but I got a lucky break this past weekend and found the over-wintering Rufous Hummingbird at Castellow Hammock Park in Miami-Dade.  There has been some speculation that this could be an Allen's Hummingbird but for my BirdaDay purposes I IDed as a Rufous.  I think it would be a tough call to go with Allen's and Rufous is much more likely but anything could happen.  I think this one will remain a mystery.

Two Arizona State Parks

The purpose of this Southwestern adventure was to spend some time with Geraldine, see some new parks, and have fun along the way. So when our last full day came I was excited to drive down into Red Rock Country and figure out why everyone loves Sedona. I must say, that I was pleasantly surprised at how much I loved the landscape, the energy, and the little town. We decided to spend our day between two of Arizona's State Parks, one on each side of Sedona.


It's no secret that a perfect day in my world involves seeing a new bird or two or at least an interesting bird. So when we parked at Red Rock State Park I already knew this was going to be one birdy little piece of land. White-throated Swifts soared all around near the nature center. When the Ranger pointed us in the direction of the Javelina Trail I was quick to ask about the hummingbirds. He said I was in luck and that a few had already arrived back and could be seen at the feeders. It took me no time to find the feeders and settle in for some hummer watching. Geraldine and I both saw Anna's and Black-chinned Hummingbirds. Both of them were lifers and a perfect way to start out our day.

With my belly full of hummingbird gazing (not eating!) we took to the Javelina Trail. It was a nice up and down trail through cactuses. The red rock views were plentiful and we were even able to pick up a few new birds for my list including Lucy's Warbler, Bridled Titmouse, and Abert's Towhee.

The signs warned of rattlesnakes but we weren't fortunate enough to see any so I would have to settle my herp dreams on these little lizards. We saw quite a few of them on and off the trail. Anyone know the ID??

The day was filled with blue skies, interesting wildlife, and perfect company. The only thing that could make it better was to take a swim so we left the park and drove back towards Slide Rock State Park.

Slide Rock State Park is a popular natural water slide in the Oak Creek River. Geraldine and I decided to skip the sliding part and just try our hand at dipping into the 44 degree waters. We both surrendered to the cold river and enjoyed a refreshing swim.

While leaving the park we saw two large hawks dive over our heads and perch across the street. Back in Red Rock State Park there was a large section of the park that was closed because it was a critical Black Hawk nesting area. So it came as no surprise when these two hawks were none other than Black Hawks. We watched them interact and mate. They were the great to see and we even pointed them out to a few other visitors. It was just one more piece in the puzzle that made this day so amazing. We ended the night in Flagstaff at a delicious Thai Restuarant and even though we found the city itself a little dead, it was fun walking around and discussing life. I will always have fond thoughts of Sedona and I look forward to one day returning. There are more trails to hike, more rivers to swim, more birds to bird, and if I'm lucky, I will have Geraldine there to join me.