I Can't Get Enough of Those Costa's Hummingbirds
A very special backyard bird of mine
I've sent a few emails with photos of this special bird but it keeps returning and grabbing my attention. Here are a few more photos of the Costa's on my back porch. I don't have much more to say about this species but enjoy watching him flit around.
He hovered in front of a terracotta turtle and just stared at me. The sun was in a perfect spot behind light clouds and his gorget lit up.
The seconds seemed to last minutes.
The Costa's Hummingbird fed on some lavender flowers. In this shot his gorget mostly showed the black feathers without any light breaking up to show the purple.
And then it turned just slightly and his gorget and head feathers burst into color. Birdnote reminds us why the hummingbird's feathers have the name "gorget" and why the gorget lights up so dramatically. They talk about a different hummingbird but the concepts are the same: https://www.birdnote.org/listen/shows/why-gorget-glitters
The hummingbird flew to one of my chuparosa plants. This is a great desert plant, requiring minimal water, and it attracts hummingbirds with its many tubular flowers. The chuparosa is one of many desert-adapted plants that attract hummingbirds: https://southwest.audubon.org/conservation/plants-attract-hummingbirds
After sipping nectar, the hummingbird took a few more seconds to study me. My "shutter speed" was 1/3200 of a second, yet much too slow to stop the hummingbird's wings in flight.
At some point, the Costa's hummingbird perched on an old cholla skeleton. It gave me a chance to try to capture a photo when the hummingbird turned just so and his gorget lit up again.
No matter which way he turned, some of his feathers broke up the sunlight while others remained black
Sitting hunched over as Costa's do, he looked plump from this angle. His gorget feathers spread widely, another characteristic of a Costa's gorget.
At one point, the Costa's changed perches, resting on a branch of a Mexican Bird-of-Paradise plant. That bird is always aware of my presence. He doesn't seem bothered by me and goes about his business in a very self-assured manner.
What a delightful bird!
Tucson Audubon's Birdathon continues through the month of April. My team, "Birdies, Bogeys and Eagles" continues our work and will go out birding on the 23rd. We have already received many nice donations. Thank you Wanda P, Melody P, Jenise P, Jim S, Deb V, Lucille P, Mary K, Bonnie S-E, Elizabeth M, Ned H, Susan S, Michele and Reuben W, Patricia D, Marsha K, Stephanie F, Connie W, Cheryl B, Constance B, Mort and Linda W, Candace A, Danny G, Barbara L, Sue B, Jill B, and Terry D. Your gifts are appreciated.
If others would like to donate to our efforts in support of Tucson Audubon, you can do so at this link: https://tas.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/tas/campaign.jsp?campaign=122&fundraiser=12602& Thank you in advance!