Mike in the Wild

It's not everyday that I encounter a new species of hummingbird for the very first time.  Of course in my limited time birding it's not an unreasonable expectation as there are over three hundred known species.  But only a single one, the ruby-throated, visits most areas of the United States and Canada.  In large swathes of the West, almost ten  more are found depending on the season.  Lucky for us  in the Southwest, especially Arizona,  as many as twenty different species spend at least some time in the state as year-round, migratory or breeding residents.  So I had high expectations when I made my first visit to Patagonia near the Mexican border last weekend.  I made the almost three hour drive from my home in Phoenix even though it was long past the summer breeding season and just past fall migration.  My first stop there was at the Paton Center for Hummingbirds - with such a descriptive name I was bound to find some new specimens i...