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Saturday, April 18, 2015

Seeking Nectar

Largest Devil's Head I've seen:  nearly 12" tall
Another chilly morning for starts today:  36 F when Becca and I headed out for Tortugas Mountain.  It felt pretty cold even with full sunshine, slightly reminiscent of late fall.  We had a nice hike nonetheless, and there were other outdoor enthusiasts enjoying the natural environment.  We ran into two mountain bikers as soon as we hit the trail, a couple of guys we see out there fairly frequently.  Becca was her normal, well-behaved self as she crouched at the side of the path until they had passed.  The bit of bushwhacking we did west of the mountain paid off as we spotted a tiny Hummingbird breakfasting on Ocotillo blossoms.  It was flitting around so quickly--presumably on a sugar rush--that I didn't get any real good photos of the tiny bird.
A little bushwhacking pays off

One of the tiniest Hummingbirds I've ever seen

I got the impression it was very young

Old enough to feed itself, though

Getting that beak in there as far as possible

Loving the Ocotillo nectar

Tortugas Mountain

Believe it or not Becca spots somebody on the mountain road

3 comments:

Dr. K said...

Such a long beak for such a tiny bird.

Scott said...

I had a report of a hummingbird here last Monday (April 13); just about right on schedule.

Yesterday we had Las Cruces weather--a sunny high near 80. What an agreeable change! That's about 15 degrees above normal. Today (Sunday) were back to more normal temperatures (low 60s) but still sunny.

packrat said...

Scott: 80 in mid-April is bearable back there, but when excessive humidity is introduced I just can't handle it; especially after having lived out here for so long. I'll bet you folks are relishing the heat, though, after such a prolonged winter season.

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