So my birding buddy who’s a botany professor lives on his household’s seven hectares (17 acres), a mere ten minutes’ drive from my home. It’s an exquisite piece of property, with a waterway operating east-west down the center. The south-facing slope was as soon as used to develop corn and graze cattle, however now sports activities three ecological properties, and is starting a technique of reforestation. The north-facing slope has many giant pine and cypress timber, with a pleasant understory together with oaks, shrubs and, proper now, even some beautiful floor orchids. However essentially the most uncommon part is the waterway. You’ll swear it was a meadow, till a pair of Mexican Geese or a Inexperienced Heron come flying out of it. Probably the most uncommon species right here owes its presence on to this marshy meadow, as that’s the favourite habitat for the Grass Wren, a species that was not too long ago break up from the Sedge Wren. (And is intently associated to the far more frequent Marsh Wren.) I’ve by no means seen this fowl anyplace else. However right here, each couple of minutes one hears its fairly unmusical track, and sees it perched on a reed or thistle someplace.
Yearly I have to go to my buddy’s property, so as to add these Grass Wrens to my 12 months checklist. However this time, I went with two different buddies, as a result of my buddy who lives there had informed us in regards to the sudden arrival of a number of migratory hummingbird species. And oh boy, had they ever arrived. Which species did we see? Resident Broad-billed, Berylline, and White-eared Hummingbirds, and migratory Rufous, Broad-tailed, Black-chinned, Ruby-throated and Calliope Hummingbirds. There could even have been a resident Rivoli’s Hummingbird or Blue-throated Mountain-Gem, however we weren’t positive of that sighting. Eight hummers or 9 hummer species, it’s all good.
Broad-billed Hummingbird, male
White-eared Hummingbird, male
Rufous Hummingbird, male
Black-chinned Hummingbird, male
Ruby-throated Hummingbird, feminine
Immature male Ruby-throated Hummingbird
And a Hummingbird Moth, for good measure
It’s at all times thrilling to see migratory species after they first arrive for the winter. However I’m conscious that I’ll proceed to see most of those hummers all through the winter. The Calliope Hummingbirds, nonetheless have been a lot, far more quite a few and energetic than I anticipate to see once more this winter. They appeared to be in every single place, having fun with the wonderful amount of flowers within the marshy space. Most enjoyable, was that I lastly bought to get good views of male Calliopes. The Calliope Hummingbird is the smallest of all hummers within the U.S. and Canada (which eBird calls “North Americal”, though all good geographers know that Mexico can be a part of North America.) However that tiny measurement doesn’t assist a lot with figuring out the females, forcing one to pay beautiful consideration to wing size, because the Calliope is our solely hummer whose wings prolong previous its tail when perched. Males, nonetheless, are unmistakeable, and really putting:
male
feminine
At this level, I would like to maneuver past our time at my buddy’s property. These are seven incredible hectares. However they’re nonetheless solely seven, and after 4 hours, we determined to maneuver to a close-by reservoir to see how its post-drought restoration is progressing. And what did we discover there? One other male Calliope Hummingbird! However this one needed to feed on a a lot smaller thistle patch, which compelled it to simply accept picture classes at a a lot shorter distance. Since I had NEVER earlier than managed images of a male Calliope, I’m over the moon about these photographs!
For essentially the most half, these hummingbirds have been the day’s revelation. However the above-mentioned Inexperienced Heron turned trying so comical, that I don’t wish to threat sharing no less than one picture of it earlier than I end right here.
