2010's bird # 600: Violet-headed Hummingbird

Yesterday I visited Cerro Azul (foothills to the east of Panama City) with Itzel Fong and Osvaldo Quintero. We simply wanted to enjoy some easy birding at the foothills, but I also had in mind to find my year-bird # 600 since I was only one bird away of my goal (I'm participating in Panama's 600 Club). Once I got out of the car, I started to search. Soon, my desired bird appear, in the form of a beautiful male Violet-headed Hummingbird feeding at the little flowers of the garden at Birder's View (thanks Rosabel).

Despite it is a common hummer, it was new because it was my first time at Cerro Azul this year (despite it is only a 45-minutes drive from the city). In fact, all the other new year-birds of the day were common species at this site (five in total, three were hummingbirds). We saw at least two different individuals. These hummingbirds liked the little, tubular flowers growing wild in the garden, never visiting the hummingbird feeders frequented by many other species. Notice that all the flowers in these pictures are similar, except by its color.

This male perched frequently no far away of the flowers, sometimes singing incessantly its insignificant song. It was so nice to have this little guy as my year-bird # 600!

This post was submitted to Bird Photography Weekly # 116. Check it out!