Sunday

Calliope Hummingbird: Birding at the Painted Pony Resort

With guests in residence, especially other Biologists and Biologists who are also birders, it is nice to show off some of the avian fauna that visits the Painted Pony Resort.  One of the guests placed several hummingbird feeders on trees in the front courtyard to attract the local hummingbirds to a spot where the guest could exit their bedroom into the front courtyard and sit watching the hummingbirds.  Over the period of several days, Rufous, Calliope, and a Black-chinned hummingbirds were observed at the feeders.  The trick to placing feeders in the high New Mexican desert is to place them where the nectar feeding bats can not easily access the feeders.  Nectar feeding bats will drain a feeder in about 10 minutes in the evening leaving nothing for the hummingbirds.  Below is a photograph of one of the Calliope hummingbirds, North America's smallest bird, near the feeder.  Hummingbird supplies are available locally from Tom's Bird Feeders and Reptile Supply.

Calliope hummingbird in the front courtyard at the Painted Pony Resort.

2 comments:

  1. Great picture of the Calliope hummingbird, it is so nice having so many hummingbirds in the area this year.

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  2. Thank you, though they do seem somewhat territorial around the feeders, but the songs are really enjoyable and even their squabbling sounds cool.

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