Greetings from the heat wall of the Midwest! Finally getting settled back in after our long trip – had to harvest my yard for the second time yesterday and finally appears to be tamed..for the time being. Along with the catch-up work around the homestead, the body had been quite upset its relative “time-off” from training is over. Back on the road now including two-a-days whenever possible. Typically there is a slow(er) transition to the high heat and humidity typical of the area allowing the internal thermostats to readjust and condition for the mid-year training and races. Being gone for two months, this has been an abrupt introduction and basically getting sweat-spanked on the outings even with the early mornings and darkness sessions. This is a bit tricky for me as you recall from my previous race posts as my internal thermostat is damaged, so I have to be careful not to go over that fine knife edge between training and…well, ambulance. Imagine running with Linda’s voice in your head “Make good choices!“. To my credit, I did pass up this weekend’s big ultra-race (CMAR link here) as hard as it is to admit, just not ready for that distance with the heat or the ankle – next year, no question as I need redemption for that last DNF.
Speaking of Linda, Monday will be our 35th anniversary and just over 37 years since we met on our first day of our new careers – fingers crossed our bosses and HR do not find out we are in a relationship hehehe. Joking aside, we did keep it a secret for a VERY long time not knowing what that might do to our work situation. You can say or training class was really close…we and the 15 other individuals in the training program were all sworn to secrecy – many of which are still close friends today in retirement. In honor of that first day I laid eyes on Linda decades ago, I thought it would be fitting to go with a featured feathered friend that I will also never forget the first time I met and equally beautiful.
How is that for a stunner of a Hummer? Hit the jump to learn more about this new Hummingbird on the lifer list.
Guessing you probably noticed the high color theme in my recent posts from last year’s trip to Arizona. Some of our US viewable Hummers can be a bit difficult to identify – looking at you Black-Chinned (link here), Ruby-Throated (link here) and Anna’s (link here) and the reason I have not featured them a lot here at Intrigued.
Sure, when they let you see their gorgeous gorgets they get a lot easier to identify, but non-displaying males and those species that have less ornate females can make for several hours buried in reference books – especially when they are one off sightings that do not allow you use some of the referential characteristics.
I took the easy route with the last two featured Hummingbirds as the Broad-Billed and the Violet-Crowned Hummers are relatively easy to identify – Violets are unique in their own way and I hopefully gave you enough tips in the Broad-Billed post to separate them from a few of their similar counterparts. Taking the easy route again with today’s feature, the Rivoli’s Hummingbird.
Even though the Rivoli’s have different gender looks, it is just plain hard to confuse a Rivoli’s sighting as they are absolutely HUGE compared to the other Hummingbirds they hang out with in the southeast of Arizona and sliver of southwest New Mexico. I will admit, that can be a “relative” characteristic and guilty as charged when it comes to my lack of enthusiasm for them. However, you do not have to compare them side by side to realize just how large-bodied these Hummers are – simply look at the relationship to the typical nectar feeders. Monsters I tell ya, monsters ha.
You know I am still going to try and give you a direct comparison shot when I can – even in this case where it is a bit soft due to the inherit tight field of depth of The Beast. Going with it as it has the Broad-Billed Hummingbird which you were just introduced to a short time back. You can read this Broad-Billed’s mind – “Why is that Bat-hole drinking out of my feeder!!!!“.
Turns out that the Rivoli’s is the second largest of the Hummingbirds that visit the continental US. It falls short in stature only to the Blue-Throated Mountain-Gem which, ironically, also has a similar breeding region to the Rivoli’s. Linda and I went after a Blue that was reported in Madera Canyon while we were visiting on our recent trip through the west. Spoiler alert – we failed on that encounter, but we did get the pleasure of observing the Rivoli’s at Santa Rita Lodge – where this series of shots was taken the year before.
Might as well add that you can tell the different between these two large Hummers by the color of their gorgets – Blue-Throated have … wait for it… wait for it.. anticipation building… blue throats versus the aqua-green brilliance the Rivoli’s wield. As if that isn’t enough, our featured Hummer has a purplish crown (from what I can tell, Blues, do not have a crown) and a single white dot behind the eye you can see in these pictures compared to the two white lines behind and below the eye in the Blues. Fingers crossed one of these days I’ll be able to tin the Mountain-Gem and give you a good look at the mega-Hummer.
As mentioned above, the Rivoli’s females have a different look, paler greens which is pretty common in the Hummingbird family. They still have that white mark behind the eye and not to offend these females…are equally huge – in the kindest possible way of course. I get the sense this female would slap me right across the face with one of her wings if she heard me say that.
I do need to spend some time on the naming of this particular Hummingbird and maybe help explain the title of this post. According to Cornell, back in 1829, René-Primevère Lesson named this Hummingbird “in honor of the second Duke of Rivoli”, an Italian region. Cornell also provides the interesting tidbit that Lesson named the Anna’s species in honor of that same Duke’s wife. He was going to name it the Chunky Hummingbird after their daughter, but apparently she slapped him across the face. Then to comply with the American Birding Associations never-ending quest to confuse the hell out of us birders, the Rivoli’s was renamed the Magnificent Hummingbird which is what I have always known it as and caught the ire of some crotchety birder who took offense to my use of that name when I first saw it at Santa Rita Lodge. Apparently I missed the memo back in 2017 when the ABA decided we were getting to comfortable and changed the name BACK to Rivoli’s for the species that inhabits the region between here and Nicaragua.
(Image below added just to give you a good look at the deep green coloring on the back of the male Rivoli’s)
I can sense you just asked yourself the obvious question. The other Hummer in the split was given the name Talamanca which hangs in Costa Rica and down into Panama. I ask you…would it be too logical and not confusing enough to keep Magnificent for our variety and just give the new name to the one broken off…anyone…anyone….steps of soap box and slides it under the desk.
Was going to wrap this post up there, but really didn’t want to have you leave on a rant. Generally Intrigued does not mix field trips in a post. Part of that is simply due to “default procedure” as it tends to take us a long while before the images are culled and the survivors processed for reveal. The other more selfish reason is we tend to overload our posts with images anyway and adding more…well you might have to get a snack while reading the post. Breaking that guideline this time for one reason…we got some great looks at this Hummingbird on the recent trip to Madera and want to show them off!
These shots were taken as the sun was going down at Santa Rita Lodge – 1600 ISO and hand-holding the 400mm (full extent of the 200-400mm zoom) at the dicey 1/400 second shutter speed. The target at the time had just landed on a nearby branch and was literally “pulsing” its beautiful colors at me.
After a burst of shots, it moved on for the night. It took me a minute to catch my breath and turned to find a lady was standing behind me in wide-eyed amazement – “That was incredible!”. I responded “I sure hope I got that in the tin” knowing those shooting conditions made it unlikely. Sometimes you get lucky…and that happens to be EXACTLY what I did when I met Linda 37 years ago.
Happy Anniversary to Linda and to the rest of you, take care and stay tuned for more birding adventures.
Wildlife Intrigued 
Happy anniversary to you both.
The hummingbirds are so amazing in every way. Wonderful shots of these special birds.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Anneli!! I look back at the number of variables that went into us meeting – same graduation cycle, both in IT, hired at the same time, put in the same training class, getting assigned to the same facility after training..then the early secrecy involved, having to put up with and saying yes to my proposal – just confirms it was meant to be. Appreciate the kind words on the Hummer shots, I am thrilled I was able to get something in the tin that at least conveyed how beautiful these Magnificents, sorry Rivoli’s are in real person. Kind of let the cat out of the bag so to speak in the post, but there will definitely be another one coming from our trip out there this year. Take care and thanks for coming by.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Looking forward to more hummingbird photos. I just had a thought. You’ve observed a lot of birds. What do you think might be going on with the flickers who landed on my roof and spent time “preening” but doing a lot of scratching. It was as if they had mites or something making them itch. Is that a common thing with them? I know our red squirrels do a lot of scratching in much the same way. Any thoughts?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Mites are a definitely possibilty – I’ve seen them so bad at times that the birds will scratch large sections of their feathers off just trying to get some relief – tends to happen more in the breeding season when the mites get into their nests and they are stuck with them until their eggs fledge – especially awful for the chicks in that nest. Not scientific by any means, but from observation it seems to happen in Spanish Mossy area which are an absolute magnet for mites and other bitey creatures. I still remember the first time I saw that moss and went to touch it before the volunteer we were with stopped me in my tracks and warned me about what lurks there. Birds love it of course as it is a great food source for those that eat those creatures, but once they get into their feathers it can be yeomen’s work to get rid of them. I don’t know if you have that kind of moss up there or something similar, but mites are a definite issue for birds…rabbits, squirrels etc., especially for those critters that are not willing to completely submerge themselves in water or dust. Note those are observations only, I may be completely wrong regarding your Flickers up there.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for that! We do have some of that Spanish moss. Last year was a particularly bad year for it. I sure feel sorry for the birds and squirrels that are afflicted with these mites, or whatever they are.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nasty for sure, you will see birds without head feathers from time to time thanks to bad cases – definitely feel bad for those birds when that happens.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Happy 35th Wedding Anniversary! Nice your relationship began as a stealthy tryst (that might be a bit of an oxymoron). Those are beautiful hummers compared to our mostly green hummers.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Tim! I can tell you it was a real concern with our new careers and fearing violations of HR policies etc during those early times before we officially announced our engagement to the majority of our coworkers (as mentioned, our very close friends in the training class were already aware). I still remember the absolute shock of some of those coworkers on the announcement day who didn’t suspect a thing hehehe. The funniest was when we were almost caught when we showed up with each other’s badges for work, oops. Once we were married it was just a matter of not working in a management line (over/under) each other which wasn’t that hard as she was a networking/security expert and most of my career was in the engineering design and enterprise architecture realm. We did work as peers in the same section at one time for a while, but that was not ideal as work issues … well more than usual.. found itself coming home with us. Ah, the days of being in the grind. Surprised you don’t get some of those southeastern AZ Hummers visiting you out there, but I can relate to your “green” hummer dilemma as we only have ONE hummer here! Take care Tim, appreciate you dropping in.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Mixing badges will get you every time. I’ve been grinding away fixing deprecated Google Maps JavaScript errors for the past three hours. Google’s unannounced deprecations are such a pain. I’m sure you don’t miss that kind of crap.
It’s a valley thing with hummingbirds out here. We only get a couple of types of hummers in the valley, but there are several types that show up in what we call The Heights, one to two thousand feet higher than us valley dwellers.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I definitely do not miss all the troubleshooting – it was a fun challenge to a point, but as Brad can attest, there is nothing like the production pressure when a plant system goes down and a cadre of managers are breathing down your back. Although you might have to hit the altitude, at least you have more than ONE Hummingbird out there ha.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Have you heard of Cesar Chavez? He was a controversial labor activist in the SW who the left loved. The La Raza movement embraced him, and many years ago local governments and school districts changed the names of roads and schools to Cesar Chavez to honor him. The left finally figured out what a lot of us knew all along. Cesar was a low-life, woman-molesting slime. Now the local govs and school districts are racing to erase all their admiration for him. Changing Cesar’s names on maps is how I discovered all the new JavaScript updates I had to deal with.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have heard of Cesar Chavez .. or should I make it the disgraced Cesar Chavez. Isn’t it funny how the once idolized become a pariah once someone does a little digging into their past…Platner rings a bell. I didn’t even think of all the impacts with the that name drop.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We’ve had, and have, a lot of low-life, shady characters out here. Especially in government.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Agreed
LikeLiked by 1 person
Happy anniversary, guys! Beautiful photos, hummers are so beautiful!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much John – it doesn’t seem so long ago when we would tried planning our dating meet-ups at places we hoped our coworkers wouldn’t be at ha! Appreciate the kind words on the shots, it is so hard to capture the true beauty of some of these Hummers as you know with your Black-chinned, Anna’s and Costas’ you get to enjoy out there in the desert. Take care – continued best wishes on your health recovery and you stay cool out there John.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks so much, God bless you both. 😊🙏🏻
LikeLiked by 1 person
These hummingbird shots are simply unbelievable!
Glad you didn’t go out and do that race in this really difficult weather. 🥵 Happy anniversary and happy birding.!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you B.J. you are too kind. Maybe there is truth to the older you get the wiser you get as I would never have missed that race regardless of conditions in the past…well when I wasn’t in a walking boot (last year) or elbow cast (3 years ago). I think Linda might be having a bad influence on me hehehe. Adding to all the tortuous race conditions this year, they are also having to deal with the Canada smoke that is coming down – heat, elevation and now bad breathing conditions. Probably a good thing I passed this year, but guarantee I’ll be back on that starting line next year even if I have to sneak out of the house!
LikeLiked by 1 person
😅🏃🏻➡️
LikeLiked by 1 person
Happy Anniversary! Beautiful photos of beautiful birds to celebrate the occasion. We are having a very hot and humid summer in Japan too. Wishing you both continued love, health and happiness (and birds).
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Takami, you are too kind. Sorry to hear your weather conditions are similar to our Midwestern sauna. It was nice being out west in the mountains for a good portion of our latest trip – the cooler mountain air was a welcome relief from the heat and humidity that was building up here at home. Unfortunately, now I am struggling to get quickly acclimated to those running conditions now that I am home versus the more gradual transition we get as the seasons changes. Still feels good to be home though. Take care and as always, good to hear from you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
First of course, Happy Anniversary 😊😊.
And these photos… quite awesome. These little critters, the whole species, are amazing. They nest all around the house and we get to watch their antics each summer. The only place I’ve seen hummers other than Ruby-throats is of course Arizona. We stopped by someplace around Sedona (hummingbird preserve ? 😏). Only saw a trillion or so.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Ted! I have to say I have been blessed with such a wonderful companion who graciously puts up with all my idiosyncrasies and accepts my many faults. What many people do not know is she is probably a better birder than I am, but she is in constant denial on that (protecting here good reputation hehehe). We only have the Ruby hear as well, so we are grateful we get the chance to see other varieties on our trips to Arizona and Texas… actually, should include Vegas in that as well as they have their share of pretty ones as well. We were in Sedona for a few days last year on our way back from that year’s western jaunt. Beautiful place and even got the chance to christen the new Rubicon on one of their jeep trails (an easy one versus how treacherous some of those out there can get, but still had its exciting moments). I was not aware of a Hummer center there, will definitely check that out the next time we are in the area – I was busy chasing their Warblers at the time…more to come on that ha. If we could just coax a few of those trillion to come our way, we’d be in business hehehe. Appreciate you dropping in Ted, take care.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sedona has some great landscape. We had a rental there for a while when we were into travel. I did some climbing up those Mesa, 9,000 feet just scares me too much though. But great shots. You can take a hot air balloon for sunrise landscapes too. I got many great published photos from that, the only pronlem was landing. Oh, always wear a hat. The hot blasts will actually cook you 😵💫
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yikes, I commend your ability to take on a hot air balloon. There are really few hard NO’s in my life and going up in a basket is on that list – good tip on the hat if I ever get knocked out and dumped into one of those death baskets hehehehe. We definitely plan on exploring more of Sedona, our stop there last year was just a couple of days to see what it was all about (and to see the turquoise MickyD arches) and make the call to add more time on our next visit. Not sure what the height was of the SugarLoaf trail, but that is one I definitely want to do again..with the rucksack, of course!
LikeLiked by 1 person
😃 the balloon is nothing like you think
LikeLiked by 1 person
You mean it isn’t a godforsaken fiery death-trap!?!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nah…it’s a no brainer. Well, until, you want to land. Then it’s a semi controlled crash 😝
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hard pass!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wonderful photos and a very Happy Anniversary!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Belinda! Glad you enjoyed the shots. Not sure of the opportunities you have up there for Hummers (we only have the Ruby-Throated here at home), but having the chance to see the wonderful species they have in AZ was real treat. There are still a few more I need to find out there (Mountain-Gem for one) – fingers crossed I can get those in the tin and introduce those as well. Appreciate you dropping in and joining the conversation – oh, are you impacted by the fires in Canada? The smoke is already moving its way down here and making a mess of our air quality.
LikeLike
We see the Ruby-Throated but I’ve yet to get a really decent shot. It was a treat to see the varieties you’ve captured. Unfortunately we’re all feeling the effects of the wildfires.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad you enjoyed the Hummingbird posts Belinda. We have another one out now and if things go as planned we will likely put out one more series before we move into August. Getting shots of Hummingbirds in general is a tedious endeavor – I sigh a bit when we encounter one knowing I’ll be working the shudder finger hard just trying to get something in the tin worth showing everyone – the amount of deleted pictures on our digital darkroom floor is staggering – thank god the film days are long past. Take care and watch that air quality when outdoors – our warnings have subsided a bit thanks to some recent rains, but assuming it is worse up there.
LikeLike
Happy Anniversary, and what wonderful photos to celebrate the date! Those last two of the Rivoli’s are just stunning. Stay safe, listen to your inner Linda voice, good luck with the training!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Sam! I am absolutely shocked how well those last two shots came out being as how dark it was getting when that Rivoli’s showed up for a final drink before turning in for the night. Must have been just enough light left to bounce off those iridescent feathers – that really popped against that darker background. There will be more shots from that shoot once I get the images process from this year (note, don’t hold your breath on when that happens knowing my track record). Oh, FYI, a bear completely destroyed most of the feeders at Santa Rita Lodge a short time before we got there. They curator has got the main timber/pole structure holding up the back feeders, but the other feeders are still being repaired. They are getting a Bear sighting a day in Madera (per the visitor center volunteer at Santa Rita) – we encountered one at Florida (Flow-Reeda) Canyon the last day we were there. Wish I would have known about the Bears before hiking 2.5 miles up the steep trails at the top of the Madera Canyon…alone. Take care Sam!
LikeLiked by 1 person
The colors are really amazing. I only see them occasionally in my immediate neck of the woods. Sometimes when I am out, but mostly hear about them from friends who have specific feeders.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad you enjoyed the shots Jerry. Always fun to see new varieties of these long billed rockets, but as you noted, it usually means we are headed out west – being only able to see the Ruby-Throated here in the Midwest gets a bit boring – still pretty – just prefer the option to tin different targets. Appreciate you dropping in Jerry!
LikeLike
Incredible photographs of a truly magnifcent bird and its pals!
However —
It pales in comparison to the magnificence of 35 years being married to each other. You both deserve accolades for honoring that original commitment. Congratulations!
I shall now sing the traditional Anniversary Song. Oh, wait. I don’t know the words. No worries, I’ll team up with with the subjects of your photos and we’ll just “hum” it.
(No more hummer puns. Promise.)
(Maybe.)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Wally, I was getting a bit worried when I saw the “however” ha. I was shocked when I noticed it was our 35th – time truly flies when you are with the one you were meant to be with…especially now that the “work” element has been replace with even more time together. Keep the puns coming Wally, they make me laugh out loud. Say hi to Gini for us!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Beautiful hummingbird captures!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Welcome Wandering Dawgs (love the handle)! Glad you enjoyed the post, like you, we love sharing our adventures. Appreciate you dropping by and have yourself a wonderful weekend.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much for following my blog,,!
LikeLiked by 1 person
My pleasure!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Enjoyed the variety of hummingbirds! I feel lucky to have a nice selection visit me on my front porch as you feel lucky too!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad you enjoyed the Hummingbirds Teri! We do get a number of Hummingbirds here at Intrigued, unfortunately, they are all the same species which is why it is such a joy to get out West and experience their variety – getting something decent in the tin is the real problem ha! Take care and as always, truly appreciate you stopping in.
LikeLike
Glad you broke your rules about not mixing photos from different occasions–those last two images had me hold my breath also!
Congratulations on your anniversary. Those concluding thoughts should give you a lot of credit with Linda, to be used the next time you “do or say something stupid,”–which is something my husband always tells me. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I felt like the first set didn’t really capture the true effect of this pretty spectacular…dare say magnificent Hummer. I knew I had those other shots in the tin from our recent trip so jumped them in the queue. I left plenty for another post on that series so stay tuned on recent 2 month escapade out west…note, my current backlong is 2 years so it might be a bit ugh. Trust me, I’ve probably already running thin on my “credits” – yesterday I signed up for the big October trail race right after mentioning to her my ankle felt like it starting to regress – my timing was probably not the best there and got the “dumbass” look -1 credit hehehe.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It truly is magnificent, this hummingbird!
Best wishes for your non-birding endeavors.
LikeLike