Birds and Nature

One of my primary target birds for Southeast Arizona was the Elegant Trogon. After abandoning an attempt to find one in Cave Creek Canyon in the Chiricahuas due to a big thunderstorm I was feeling like I wouldn't see one as everyone said it was pretty late and they were no longer calling. But I ran into a fellow named Elias who told me he had seen one in the Patagonia Mountains just a few days before so I drove up there late this afternoon. I was walking along the dirt road looking into the trees in hopes of spotting a trogon. I heard barking nearby--but not the barking call of a trogon, an real dog. There is a ranch nearby and I guess it was a ranch dog. At close to 5:30 pm I spotted this male Elegant Trogon about 25 feet up in a tree right by the road so got a couple of close up shots (photos are tightly cropped). The trogon flew off but I was able to refind it a hundred or so feet away but in a more distant tree from which I got these two bottom pics. I hadn't...

These are two of dozens of Broad-billed Hummingbirds I watched at Ash Canyon Bed and Breakfast in Hereford, AZ. These males are so colorful from their distinctive red bills to to their brilliant blue and green plumage. I am very happy with how nice these pics turned out--do double click on these pics to enlarge them for even better views. SeEtta