On our most recent trip through Arizona, we were finally able to make some time to stop in Portal. Portal is located on the east side of the Chiricahua Mountains. It is in Arizona, but only a few miles from the New Mexico border. We should have continued on our way home, but Portal is a renowned birding area and we had one last weekend night and day. I didn't know what to expect. It was late November and the summer seasonal specialties should have been gone. I was hoping to see a Blue-throated Hummingbird. As I approached a milestone in the number of species that I have seen and kept a record of ("lifers" to us birders), I went back through my sitings and removed any "lifer" that I had any doubt about. One of those records was a Blue-throated Hummingbird that I thought I had seen in Ramsey Canyon, AZ. At the time, I had only recently seen a Magnificent (now Rivoli's) Hummingbird for the first time and this one looked "different". Nonetheless, it was a female or juvenile and my identification was primarily based on the amount of white in the lines on its face. That wasn't good enough to separate it from a Magnificent Hummingbird, so it had to be removed from my list. It's a species that I really wanted to add back to my list and Portal is a well known location to see them in the summer. I was afraid to even ask if there was a chance to see one when we arrived. To my knowledge they were gone in the winter. Almost all species of hummingbirds leave the United States in the winter. It was too much to hope for and I didn't want to be laughed at for asking...but lo and behold. We arrived after dark and I decided to go ahead and ask our lodging host if there was a chance, however remote, to see one. I was shocked when he told me that they could be seen at his residence year round! I couldn't hardly wait until morning, but watching bats circling the porch light to snap up insects was a wonderful way to pass the evening. I got up early the next morning and the sunrise hitting the top of the mountains was incredible.

The picture below is a female Blue-throated Hummingbird at the feeder. It's backlit, but note the large white tip on the tail. This is one of the field marks of this species.

And as we turned to leave to explore more of Portal and the Chiricahuas, there was a beautiful female Red-naped Sapsucker feeding on berries in a nearby bush. This bird is a female because of the small white patch directly under its bill. This is one of the more discreet differences for telling males and females apart in sapsuckers and woodpeckers.

A Northern Saw-whet Owl was one of the last things I expected to see during a trip to Phoenix, AZ. It is my understanding that these owls are usually found in forests, and I would guess, at higher elevations. This one was found in a wetland preserve in the greater Phoenix area at the Riparian Water Ranch, also known as the Gilbert Water Ranch, in Gilbert, AZ. I had missed out on seeing it the first day that it was found, but not for lack of looking. When I tried again the second day, I understood why I hadn't found it the day before. It was shockingly small and if a handful of birders hadn't already been there, I would have missed it again. Even having seen it, I could not find it again the next day. It's always difficult to judge size in pictures, but from the top of its head to the bottom of its tail I don't think it was more than 6 inches long. I was so surprised by how small and beautiful this bird was. I knew it was going to be pretty from looking at pictures, but birds are always more beautiful in person. This owl was surprisingly calm despite being viewed by birders (who were well-behaved) throughout the day. It even tolerated some very excited children. I stayed until dark hoping to see it take flight for the evening, but it was happy in its tree. I was incredibly lucky to get to spend an afternoon watching this bird. To top it all off, it was a milestone "lifer". All of these pictures were taken with my phone through my binoculars, so there are reflections in some of the pictures.