Arizona Hummingbirds
Hummingbirds in Arizona are known for its variety of hummingbirds during hummingbird migrations that you can not find anywhere else in the US. In North America, in each state they get a few or more species of hummingbirds during hummingbird migrations and if you happen to live in an area where it's the hummingbird migrations path at, you get a great treat.
Arizona is known for a hot spot for birding but hummingbirds that you can find during spring and fall migration are the magnet for birders and photographers from all over the country and from all over the world. Hummingbird migration schedule usually starts around the beginning of March and it peaks in May. The migrating hummingbirds are travelling mostly from Mexico and some are from all the way from south America countries. They need to do a seasonal migration to stay in a warm climate place and South East Arizona's mountain regions ,known as Sky Island, is on the path for hummingbird migrations. And fall migration starts around the end of August till the beginning of September during which they tank themselves up as much as they can to prepare for their long journey back to South.
Birders and photographers all agree that fall migration is more specutacular than spring migration.
Some hummingbirds have a similar hummingbird migration routes and other hummingbirds have a different migration routes. South East Arizona happens to be a convenient and a popular migration route for the migrating hummingbirds and at Beatty's Guest Ranch, Miller Canyon, you will be greeted with a heavy traffic of hummingbirds at their hummingbird viewing site. In fact, when I first visited there, I was amazed by the number of hummingbirds I saw and literally, there were everywhere and there were so many different species.
How many Arizona hummingbird species out there? According to Tom Beatty, the owner of Beatty's Guest Ranch, he had witnessed 14 species of hummingbirds in a single day in a particular year and he claims it's a record. When I was there, I found 12 species of hummingbirds and needless to say, I was very excited about it. I didn't expect to find 14 species of hummingbirds during my stay at his ranch knowing that his experience was quite unusual. In some parts of the US, they get only one hummingbird, Ruby-throated hummingbird. Some visitors were from one of those states to see many different species of hummingbirds at Beatty's Guest Ranch. It's interesting to note that Arizona has most number of hummingbird species in North America but they don't have Ruby-throated hummingbird. A rare scattered sighting of Ruby-throated hummingbird in Arizona has been reported but it looks to be an accidental find.
Hummingbird pictures captured at hummingbird hot spots,Miller Canyon, Ash Canyon and Ramsey Canyon.
The Huachuca mountains in South East Arizona is one of the hot birding spots in the nation.
This mountain areas are a "sky island" known for a huge hummingbird migration. There are
several canyons in the Huachuca Mountains where you can find many different species of
hummingbirds but Miller Canyon,Ash Canyon and Ramsey Canyon are best known for
varieties of hummingbirds. Among them, Beatty's Guest Ranch in Miller Canyon,is boast of
the most number of hummingbirds you can find anywhere in North America. Tom Beatty Sr.
holds the record number of 14 species of hummingbird he had seen in a sigle day in the past.
Though there's no guarantee that you'll be able to see that many species in a sigle day at Beatty's
it is very possible that you'll be able to find 10 species any day.
I stayed at Beatty's Guest Ranch and at Ash Canyon Bed and Breakfast in Ash Canyon in August,2008 and in August,2009,
I stayed at Beatty's Guest Ranch and at Ramsey Canyon Inn. These are the hummingbird photos I captured
during those periods.
I'd like to especially thank Shirlene at Ramsey Canyon Inn for giving me a total freedom to do my hummingbird
shoot within their property and I just can not thank you enough. You made me feel right at home when you granted
me such a permission. I also have to tell you that my daughter and I really enjoyed your pies! Your pies are the
best I've ever eaten. Period.
I also would like to thank Mary Jo Ballator at Ash Canyon Bed and Breakfast and Tom Beatty Sr. and his family
at Beatty's Guest Ranch,Miller Canyon,for sharing such a wonderful hummingbird viewing site. This year,2009,
is a very good year for hummingbird viewing and I certainly took advantage of it and I could capture excellent
hummingbird images.
About Hummingbird Multiple Flash Photography
I sometimes get mails from people asking about how I took these
hummingbird pictures. As you can see there are two different kinds of
hummingbird pictures here: hummingbird still photos and in-flight photos.
Taking hummingbird still photos is just a matter of picking a right location
and a good spot to shoot. Shooting hummingbirds in a place like Beatty's
Guest Ranch is like shooting a fish in a barrel. You don't have to look for them.
They are there waiting for you. Just look for a good light,a good angle and have a ton of patience.
But hummingbird flash photography is completely different.
Though some people don't like hummingbird multiple flash photography,
I do believe that hummingbird flash photography is an art in its own and it takes
a considerable time,efforts,trials and errors. I don't go into details here
about how I used my multiple flashes but I used 5 flashes and I used a SU800
to trigger all my Nikon flashes wirelessly. As I learned more about Hummingbird
flash photography,I also learned about the importance of the background.
I used both natural and my own backgrounds,mostly oil paintings.
The background is a very important part of the whole setup and it either pops
the hummingbird image or kills it.
After you went through many trials and errors,making sure all the flashes would expose
a humming bird,a flower and the background prefectly,and when you get a good shot,you will
see the reward in your image and it's a great feeling.
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Read MoreArizona is known for a hot spot for birding but hummingbirds that you can find during spring and fall migration are the magnet for birders and photographers from all over the country and from all over the world. Hummingbird migration schedule usually starts around the beginning of March and it peaks in May. The migrating hummingbirds are travelling mostly from Mexico and some are from all the way from south America countries. They need to do a seasonal migration to stay in a warm climate place and South East Arizona's mountain regions ,known as Sky Island, is on the path for hummingbird migrations. And fall migration starts around the end of August till the beginning of September during which they tank themselves up as much as they can to prepare for their long journey back to South.
Birders and photographers all agree that fall migration is more specutacular than spring migration.
Some hummingbirds have a similar hummingbird migration routes and other hummingbirds have a different migration routes. South East Arizona happens to be a convenient and a popular migration route for the migrating hummingbirds and at Beatty's Guest Ranch, Miller Canyon, you will be greeted with a heavy traffic of hummingbirds at their hummingbird viewing site. In fact, when I first visited there, I was amazed by the number of hummingbirds I saw and literally, there were everywhere and there were so many different species.
How many Arizona hummingbird species out there? According to Tom Beatty, the owner of Beatty's Guest Ranch, he had witnessed 14 species of hummingbirds in a single day in a particular year and he claims it's a record. When I was there, I found 12 species of hummingbirds and needless to say, I was very excited about it. I didn't expect to find 14 species of hummingbirds during my stay at his ranch knowing that his experience was quite unusual. In some parts of the US, they get only one hummingbird, Ruby-throated hummingbird. Some visitors were from one of those states to see many different species of hummingbirds at Beatty's Guest Ranch. It's interesting to note that Arizona has most number of hummingbird species in North America but they don't have Ruby-throated hummingbird. A rare scattered sighting of Ruby-throated hummingbird in Arizona has been reported but it looks to be an accidental find.
Hummingbird pictures captured at hummingbird hot spots,Miller Canyon, Ash Canyon and Ramsey Canyon.
The Huachuca mountains in South East Arizona is one of the hot birding spots in the nation.
This mountain areas are a "sky island" known for a huge hummingbird migration. There are
several canyons in the Huachuca Mountains where you can find many different species of
hummingbirds but Miller Canyon,Ash Canyon and Ramsey Canyon are best known for
varieties of hummingbirds. Among them, Beatty's Guest Ranch in Miller Canyon,is boast of
the most number of hummingbirds you can find anywhere in North America. Tom Beatty Sr.
holds the record number of 14 species of hummingbird he had seen in a sigle day in the past.
Though there's no guarantee that you'll be able to see that many species in a sigle day at Beatty's
it is very possible that you'll be able to find 10 species any day.
I stayed at Beatty's Guest Ranch and at Ash Canyon Bed and Breakfast in Ash Canyon in August,2008 and in August,2009,
I stayed at Beatty's Guest Ranch and at Ramsey Canyon Inn. These are the hummingbird photos I captured
during those periods.
I'd like to especially thank Shirlene at Ramsey Canyon Inn for giving me a total freedom to do my hummingbird
shoot within their property and I just can not thank you enough. You made me feel right at home when you granted
me such a permission. I also have to tell you that my daughter and I really enjoyed your pies! Your pies are the
best I've ever eaten. Period.
I also would like to thank Mary Jo Ballator at Ash Canyon Bed and Breakfast and Tom Beatty Sr. and his family
at Beatty's Guest Ranch,Miller Canyon,for sharing such a wonderful hummingbird viewing site. This year,2009,
is a very good year for hummingbird viewing and I certainly took advantage of it and I could capture excellent
hummingbird images.
About Hummingbird Multiple Flash Photography
I sometimes get mails from people asking about how I took these
hummingbird pictures. As you can see there are two different kinds of
hummingbird pictures here: hummingbird still photos and in-flight photos.
Taking hummingbird still photos is just a matter of picking a right location
and a good spot to shoot. Shooting hummingbirds in a place like Beatty's
Guest Ranch is like shooting a fish in a barrel. You don't have to look for them.
They are there waiting for you. Just look for a good light,a good angle and have a ton of patience.
But hummingbird flash photography is completely different.
Though some people don't like hummingbird multiple flash photography,
I do believe that hummingbird flash photography is an art in its own and it takes
a considerable time,efforts,trials and errors. I don't go into details here
about how I used my multiple flashes but I used 5 flashes and I used a SU800
to trigger all my Nikon flashes wirelessly. As I learned more about Hummingbird
flash photography,I also learned about the importance of the background.
I used both natural and my own backgrounds,mostly oil paintings.
The background is a very important part of the whole setup and it either pops
the hummingbird image or kills it.
After you went through many trials and errors,making sure all the flashes would expose
a humming bird,a flower and the background prefectly,and when you get a good shot,you will
see the reward in your image and it's a great feeling.
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http://www.streetarticles.com/travel-and-leisure/arizona-hummingbirds
Magnificent Hummingbird at Beatty's Guest Ranch,Miller Canyon,AZ,2009
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