Tag: Arizona

There is something about seeing a roadrunner in a tree that makes it very clear how closely they are related to cuckoos.

Greater roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus) in a Chinese pistache tree (Pistacia chinensis), at the Sierra Vista Environmental Operations Park, Sierra Vista, Arizona.

The only disappointment on the first day of my Big Week was finding a reclamation pond at the Sierra Vista Environmental Operations Park had been drained, and the bulrushes and cattails burned. I expected to find white-faced ibises there to add to my list. It must have been done very recently, because it was still smoldering. But then this handsome coyote showed up, posing and looking like he was ready to try for the Westminster Kennel Club show. Birding is more than birds. 

Bruiser.

A few weeks ago I noticed this little first-year male Anna’s hummingbird at Ash Canyon. He was injured; the tips of his upper and lower beak were dangling, barely attached. The damage looked a lot like a badly torn fingernail. Birds’ beaks are made of the same keratin as nails, only they can’t grow back once they are broken. A few days later the dangling parts dropped off.

There’s no way to tell what caused his injury—conflict, collision, or some accident while feeding—but I worried that he wouldn’t last long without a fully functional beak. Somehow he seems to be thriving.

Anna’s hummingbirds are resident here all winter; I expect he will stay close, where he has a consistent food source. When I first noticed him he was only eating insects that he caught on the wing, even though he was badly hurt. He has begun feeding at flowers again, which accounts for the smudge of pollen on his forehead. And he has become fiercely protective of his favorite feeder at the sanctuary, so at least I can find him in the crowd and keep track of his progress. 

Recent hummingbirds at Ash Canyon.

From top:

Rufous (Selasphorus rufus). This immature male is displaying the first of his brilliant gold gorget feathers.

Broad-tailed (Selasphorus platycercus) taking an early morning dip. 

Anna’s (Calypte anna).

Broad-billed female (Cynanthus latirostris).

Male and female calliope (Selasphorus calliope). We are in the last days of the late-summer stopover in southeastern Arizona, before most of the hummingbirds complete their migration and move on to Central and South America. The calliopes are the most recent visitors to arrive, and I am completely captivated by them. The male is such a standout, with his long, garnet-colored gorget feathers. But the tiny female has won my heart. I rarely see her at nectar feeders; she has a marked preference for flowers. Calliopes are the smallest hummingbirds in the United States, with bodies no bigger than the final joint of my thumb. I love the irony of this tiny bird sharing the name of the Greek muse Calliope, the muse of eloquence and epic poetry, and the most assertive and powerful of the nine muses.