Wanted Not Dead But Alive: Costa's Hummingbird

I had high hopes of locating and photographing at least one male Costa's Hummingbird in Gilbert, Arizona last week. They were being reported in areas near my daughter's home in Gilbert so I was confident I'd find at least one during our five-day visit. I spent my first morning of birding at the Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch. I saw lots of hummingbirds, but they mostly Anna's and a couple of Black-chinned Hummingbirds. I went to Veteran's Oasis Park on my second morning in Gilbert. I spoke to a local birder who got my hopes up when she said she thought she saw a Costa's Hummingbird on "the other end of the park". I looked in that area and failed again to see one. Two strikes in two days got my determination level to rise. I was not going to go a full five days in Gilbert without seeing what was supposed to be a relatively easy bird to find.

I skipped birding Sunday morning to attend church with family, but I took my three-year-old grandson, Graham, with me for my second visit to Veteran's Oasis Park. We walked along a trail for about five minutes and followed a "bunny rabbit" that caught Graham's attention. After looking at the rabbit I noticed something odd on a nearby cactus. A double take made me realize it was a hummingbird, but there was something really odd about how the hummingbird was on the cactus. It was impaled and deceased. It was a male Costa's Hummingbird and that was NOT how I wanted to see my first one. I wondered if a Loggerhead Shrike was the perpetrator because impaling prey on sharp objects is a behavior associated with Shrikes. The truth is I'll never know what really happened to that unfortunate bird.

Deceased Male Costa's Hummingbird in Gilbert, AZ

Deceased Male Costa's Hummingbird in Gilbert, AZ

We had just gotten to the other side of the park when Graham declared, "I'm done with the park, Papa Jeff!" It was time to head back to the car. I did not want the only male Costa's Hummingbird I photographed on the trip to be a dead one. I couldn't change the fact that it was the first one, but I was determined to do all I could to find one flying and perching during my last two days in Gilbert.

I noticed one last hummingbird just as we arrived back at the car. I almost ignored it, but decided to take a look through the binoculars. Lucky for me it was a male Costa's Hummingbird. It was a bit high in the tree and didn't allow the perspective I would have preferred, but with the luck I'd experienced to that point I was happy to see one from any angle.

The sun was directly overhead and sending harsh light on the bird, washing out the shiny green feathers on the upper side of the bird. No matter which way I tried I either ended up seeing the face with no light reflecting off the iridescent gorget or I got part of the gorget to shine purple while having a hard time seeing the eyes of the bird. I had to settle for these images with a determination to try again during my next visit to Gilbert.

Male Costa's Hummingbird in Gilbert, AZ

Male Costa's Hummingbird in Gilbert, AZ

Male Costa's Hummingbird in Gilbert, AZ

Male Costa's Hummingbird in Gilbert, AZ

Male Costa's Hummingbird in Gilbert, AZ