When I was in Camp Verde, Arizona, on April 30, buzzards (turkey vultures) were circling a dead jackrabbit on my friend Mary's front driveway. One came down, and I was able to film it briefly. I also took video of the circling vultures. The birds were flying so low over the house.
The circling continued for quite some time, with no sign they would come to the ground, until my friend's neighbor removed the jackrabbit and the birds moved on.
The video shows the birds, but not the carrion.
The newest addition to the Filming the Feathers video series, as well as to my Photography pages, displays the beautiful black-chinned hummingbirds (Archilochus alexandri) I saw in Arizona April 29-May 3. We visited the copper mining town of Jerome, where a souvenir shop has multiple hummingbird feeders outside, and I got a chance to capture video of the black-chinned as well as a few Anna's hummingbirds.
Most of the photos and videos here, though, come from Camp Verde, Arizona, where my generous hostess made sure the hummingbirds had plenty of sugar water to drink every day in her backyard. And that ensured I had many opportunities to film these gorgeous birds.
We get to see ruby-throated hummingbirds in Central Park feeding on jewel weed, and I will eventually post photos and video of those birds. But for now, I'm happy to present their Western "cousins."
Arizona has a lot of very dry landscape and very hot desert. It also has some exquisitely beautiful flowers, both on the ubiquitous cactuses and in the spritely gardens and near the mountain streams in Scottsdale, Camp Verde, Sedona and Jerome.
I've put together a video photo album of some of my favorite shots of the flora I saw in Arizona (I visited from April 28 through May 4), and added some fun music, called Carry On Bach, by Paul Arden Taylor, performed by the Academy Wind Trio.
Below are four of my favorite still shots from the video. To see all of the shots, visit the Blooming Arizona page.
