Birds in Nature - images of wild birds by Richard Ditch

Subject: Broad-billed Hummingbird (Cynanthus latirostris)
Place: Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Superior, AZ, USA
Date: February 2003
Equipment: Nikon N90S, Nikkor AF-S 300/2.8 & TC20E (= 600/5.6), tripod
Film: Fuji Sensia 100
Exposure: Aperture priority matrix metered, no compensation
Scan: Minolta Dimage, 85% of frame (cropped on right only)

Commentary: Broad-billed Hummingbird is essentially a Mexican species, reaching it's northern limit in southern Arizona. It is one of the treats for visiting birders to the sky islands of southern AZ such as the Santa Rita Mountains at Madera Canyon. But not many of the visiting birders know it can be found as far north as Superior where the bird has nested at least for the last three years and wintered there this year.

This male has been hanging out in a small garden area not far from the same nest used the past two years. I see it on most visits, but this is the first time it cooperated for some photos. It would return to this same natural perch after feeding on flowers or chasing Anna's Hummingbirds out of the area. The requirement of the park to stay on the trails prevented me from moving any further to my right to eliminate the OOF branch in the background. The branch is right on the limit and I wasn't able to hold any more detail, but I'd rather sacrifice the highlights of the branch than mess up the colors of the bird.