2022 Earthwatch Arizona Trip Part 2 - Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds, though common throughout most of the western United States, are particularly prevalent in southeastern Arizona. As I mentioned before in my previous blog post about owls, the variety of hummingbird species here is due to the intersection of the US with the northernmost tip of the Sierra Madre Occidental range. Here I encountered species that cannot be found anywhere in this country outside of this small localized region in southern Arizona and New Mexico.

At the Southwestern Research Station, they had set up a multitude of hummingbird feeders. In the early morning, I would often walk down to the feeders to snap some photos of the birds. Whenever a person would approach, the hummingbirds would scatter, but after 30 seconds or so, they would come back to feeding and treat the intruder as one would an unpleasant dog turd. They would avoid them but still fly around, because there are more important things to worry about than a human on a bench.

Formerly known as the Blue-throated Hummingbird, the Blue-throated Mountain-gem (Lampornis clemenciae) is the largest hummingbird whose range extends into the US. I looked hard for this bird the last time I went through Arizona, but I was unable to find it. This hummingbird was very common at the station’s feeders. Being as large as they are, when it’s time for them to eat, they are able to aggressively shove any other hummingbird out of the way.

Here’s another photo of a Blue-throated Mountain-gem. Oddly enough, the bird reminds me of the White-eared Hummingbird as it has the namesake trait and also a proportionally short bill, which both species have, although it is more prominent in the White-eared Hummingbird. Despite this slight resemblance, they actually are in different subfamilies, with the mountain-gem being in the, well, “mountain-gem” subfamily, Lampornithini, and the other being in the “emerald” subfamily, Trochilini.

The same individual but in a different position. In this picture, the beak looks a lot shorter.

One last Blue-throated Hummingbird photo.

Can you find the hummingbird? Though slightly smaller than the mountain-gem, the Rivoli’s Hummingbird (Eugenes fulgens) is, in my opinion, by far the better in terms of beauty. Its whole body is a mesmerizing combination of reflective greens and blues. In better lighting, the whole gorget is an iridescent purple. Sadly, in this photo, it’s a bit far-off. These hummers didn’t sit that still around the feeders, preferring to quickly but violently disrupt the hummingbird feeding hierarchy.

The Berylline Hummingbird (Saucerottia beryllina) is a bird normally not seen too often in the US. Though in recent years the frequency at which a vagrant of this species has been found has increased, it is still a rare bird. I was told by one of the groups at the research station that was working on hummingbirds that they had seen a Berylline, so the following morning, I went out looking for it. After maybe 20 minutes or so, it showed up at one of the feeders, but not long enough for good pictures. So, I waited maybe 10 or so more minutes for it to come back and after a bit, it did. It didn’t seem to like hanging around the feeders that often. So again, I had a very quick window of time to snap a photo of it, but this time I was prepared and sure enough, it paid off.

The Black-chinned Hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri) is a relatively small and common western hummingbird. They share this genus with the similar-looking eastern US’s Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris), which is the only regularly occurring hummer species on the East Coast.

Looking like an absolute buffoon, we have here an Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus) masquerading as a hummingbird. Every so often, the bird would fly in, give a confused “waka-waka” call, and then try to get nectar out of the hummingbird feeders. Despite being quite oversized for the feeders, the woodpecker still was able to consume some sugar water, much to the distaste of the hummers, who did not take kindly to its presence as they angrily chittered away, waiting for this sugar bandit to leave.