Leighton Photography & Imaging

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  • The black-chinned hummingbird is a common hummingbird at lower elevations in most of the American Southwest and parts of the Pacific Northwest, occasionally wintering near the Gulf of Mexico, but generally moving much further south along Mexico's Pacific Coast for the colder months of the year. This female was waiting her turn as some of the larger buff-bellied hummingbirds were chasing her away from the wildflowers she was trying to feed from. She finally paused for a moment for this shot in the Lower Rio Grande Valley on a warm winter morning near Weslaco, Texas.
    Female Black-chinned Hummingbird (Ar..dri)
  • This beautiful male Anna's hummingbird is a common west coast species that is expanding it's territory every year. Once only found in Southern California and Mexico's Baja California, they have moved north as far as British Columbia as a result of ornamental plantings and hummingbird feeders that keep these little flying beauties fed year-round. This was one of several seen feeding on salmonberry flowers or resting in willows in Bellevue Washington on a beautiful spring Pacific Northwest afternoon.
    Male Anna's Hummingbird
  • This beautiful male Anna's hummingbird is a common west coast species that is expanding it's territory every year. Once only found in Southern California and Mexico's Baja California, they have moved north as far as British Columbia as a result of ornamental plantings and hummingbird feeders that keep these little flying beauties fed year-round. This was one of several seen feeding on salmonberry flowers or resting in willows in Bellevue Washington on a beautiful spring Pacific Northwest afternoon.
    Male Anna's Hummingbird
  • This beautiful male Anna's hummingbird is a common west coast species that is expanding it's territory every year. Once only found in Southern California and Mexico's Baja California, they have moved north as far as British Columbia as a result of ornamental plantings and hummingbird feeders that keep these little flying beauties fed year-round. This was one of several seen feeding on salmonberry flowers or resting in willows in Bellevue Washington on a beautiful spring Pacific Northwest afternoon.
    Male Anna's Hummingbird
  • This beautiful male Anna's hummingbird is a common west coast species that is expanding it's territory every year. Once only found in Southern California and Mexico's Baja California, they have moved north as far as British Columbia as a result of ornamental plantings and hummingbird feeders that keep these little flying beauties fed year-round. This was one of several seen feeding on salmonberry flowers or resting in willows in Bellevue Washington on a beautiful spring Pacific Northwest afternoon.
    Male Anna's Hummingbird
  • The black-chinned hummingbird is a common hummingbird at lower elevations in most of the American Southwest and parts of the Pacific Northwest, occasionally wintering near the Gulf of Mexico, but generally moving much further south along Mexico's Pacific Coast for the colder months of the year. This female photographed resting in a mesquite bush near La Joya, New Mexico - is not as flashy and brightly-colored as her male counterpart, but is very active among the desert wildflowers and somewhat aggressive to anyone getting in her way!
    Black-Chinned Hummingbird
  • The black-chinned hummingbird is a common hummingbird at lower elevations in most of the American Southwest and parts of the Pacific Northwest, occasionally wintering near the Gulf of Mexico, but generally moving much further south along Mexico's Pacific Coast for the colder months of the year. This male photographed near La Joya, New Mexico - if seen in the right position in the sunlight reflects bright iridescent feathers with an electric magenta throat!
    Black-Chinned Hummingbird
  • The black-chinned hummingbird is a common hummingbird at lower elevations in most of the American Southwest and parts of the Pacific Northwest, occasionally wintering near the Gulf of Mexico, but generally moving much further south along Mexico's Pacific Coast for the colder months of the year. This male photographed near La Joya, New Mexico - if seen in the right position in the sunlight reflects bright iridescent feathers with an electric magenta throat!
    Black-Chinned Hummingbird
  • Shockingly beautiful and lightning fast, the buff-bellied hummingbird is found along the Gulf of Mexico from the Panhandle of Florida to the just south of the Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula and into Belize. This incredibly colorful male was found and photographed in the Lower Rio Grande Valley near Weslaco, Texas was visiting several wildflowers in search of nectar.
    Male Buff-bellied Hummingbird (Amazi..sis)
  • Shockingly beautiful and lightning fast, the buff-bellied hummingbird is found along the Gulf of Mexico from the Panhandle of Florida to the just south of the Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula and into Belize. This incredibly colorful male was found and photographed in the Lower Rio Grande Valley near Weslaco, Texas was visiting several wildflowers in search of nectar.
    Male Buff-bellied Hummingbird (Amazi..sis)
  • Shockingly beautiful and lightning fast, the buff-bellied hummingbird is found along the Gulf of Mexico from the Panhandle of Florida to the just south of the Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula and into Belize. This incredibly colorful male was found and photographed in the Lower Rio Grande Valley near Weslaco, Texas was visiting several wildflowers in search of nectar.
    Male Buff-bellied Hummingbird (Amazi..sis)
  • The black-chinned hummingbird is a common hummingbird at lower elevations in most of the American Southwest and parts of the Pacific Northwest, occasionally wintering near the Gulf of Mexico, but generally moving much further south along Mexico's Pacific Coast for the colder months of the year. This female photographed near La Joya, New Mexico - is not as flashy and brightly-colored as her male counterpart, but is very active among the desert wildflowers and somewhat aggressive to anyone getting in her way!
    Black-Chinned Hummingbird
  • The hummingbird bush, also known in Spanish as the chuparosa or chiparosa (both meaning hummingbird) is a very attractive bright orange-red flowering bush found in the dry, arid parts of Southern California and Arizona where there is a lot of rocky terrain. This spring bloomer attracts not only a lot of hummingbirds, but also other wildlife attracted to the sweet, nectar-filled flowers. This one was photographed in a small canyon near Mecca, CA in the Colorado Desert.
    Hummingbird Bush
  • The firebush is a real beauty of the tropics and is a commonly encountered native shrub in South Florida and many parts of Mexico and Central America. A relative of coffee, the firebush, (also known by many other names such as Mexican firecracker, hummingbird bush, scarlet bush, and redhead, attracts large numbers of butterflies and hummingbirds who feed on the sweet nectar provided by the bright orange and red tubular flowers. This one was found growing in a nature preserve in Palm Beach County in South Florida.
    Firebush
  • The firebush is a real beauty of the tropics and is a commonly encountered native shrub in South Florida and many parts of Mexico and Central America. A relative of coffee, the firebush (also known by many other names such as Mexican firecracker, hummingbird bush, scarlet bush, and redhead) attracts large numbers of butterflies and hummingbirds who feed on the sweet nectar provided by the bright orange and red tubular flowers. This one was found growing in a nature preserve in Palm Beach County in South Florida.
    Firebush
  • The firebush is a real beauty of the tropics and is a commonly encountered native shrub in South Florida and many parts of Mexico and Central America. A relative of coffee, the firebush (also known by many other names such as Mexican firecracker, hummingbird bush, scarlet bush, and redhead) attracts large numbers of butterflies and hummingbirds who feed on the sweet nectar provided by the bright orange and red tubular flowers. This one was found growing deep in the Fakahatchee Strand in the northern part of the Florida Everglades in Collier County.
    Firebush
  • A perfect trio of flowers of the anacahuita, also known as the wild Texas olive, growing in a field in Harlingen, Texas. This member of the borage family is native to northeast Mexico and only is found in the United States in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Southern Texas. This tree provides fruit and pollen for many types of wildlife - especially hummingbirds! A jelly can be made from the olive-like fruit.
    Anacahuita (Cordia boissieri)
  • As red as red can get! These intensely-bright small native hibiscus flowers are native to the Rio Grande Valley area along Southern Texas where they will continue to bloom all year long, even in the hottest part of summer just as long as the is no chance of frost. Heart leaf hibiscus flowers are favored by both butterflies and hummingbirds, and withstand long periods of high heat and lack of water. This one was photographed between various brief butterfly visits  just south of Alamo, Texas near the Rio Grande on a warm winter afternoon.
    Heart Leaf Hibiscus (Hibiscus martianus)
  • As red as red can get! These intensely-bright small native hibiscus flowers are native to the Rio Grande Valley area along Southern Texas where they will continue to bloom all year long, even in the hottest part of summer just as long as the is no chance of frost. Heart leaf hibiscus flowers are favored by both butterflies and hummingbirds, and withstand long periods of high heat and lack of water. This one was photographed between various brief butterfly visits  just south of Alamo, Texas near the Rio Grande on a warm winter afternoon.
    Heart Leaf Hibiscus (Hibiscus martianus)
  • Hardhack (also known by many other common names such as rose spirea, western spiraea, steeplebush and more) is common wetland flowering bush in the rose family that easily reaches a hight of around 7 feet and can be found in wet soils across the Pacific Northeast and Western Canadian provinces. It attracts a large number of pollinating bees, bumblebees and hummingbirds, and the thick vegetation it provides makes it ideal cover for all sorts of small mammals and birds to take shelter, such as rabbits, towhees and other passerine songbirds. This one was found in full flower on the edge of Soos Creek in Kent, Washington on a cloudy summer day.
    Hardhack
  • A favorite food source for hummingbirds, butterflies and moths, the western trumpet honeysuckle is a beautiful flowering vine found throughout much of the western United States, including British Columbia in several types of coastal to lower-elevation mountain habitats. This particular one was found growing in wild profusion in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest on the eastern side of Washington State's Cascade Mountains.
    Western Trumpet Honeysuckle
  • A favorite food source for hummingbirds, butterflies and moths, the western trumpet honeysuckle is a beautiful flowering vine found throughout much of the western United States, including British Columbia in several types of coastal to lower-elevation mountain habitats. This particular one was found growing in wild profusion in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest on the eastern side of Washington State's Cascade Mountains.
    Western Trumpet Honeysuckle
  • A favorite food source for hummingbirds in the Sonoran Desert, Parry's penstemon (also known as Parry's beardtongue) is a vibrantly pink to fuchsia hardy wildflower found natively in Southern Arizona and Northern Mexico. These tough plants can stand the heat of the desert and the heavy spring rainfalls typical of our southwestern deserts and are only bested by prolonged drought. These were among about a dozen beautiful tall blooming examples found growing in the hills of rural Santa Cruz County in southern Arizona.
    Parry's Penstemon
  • A favorite food source for hummingbirds in the Sonoran Desert, Parry's penstemon (also known as Parry's beardtongue) is a vibrantly pink to fuchsia hardy wildflower found natively in Southern Arizona and Northern Mexico. These tough plants can stand the heat of the desert and the heavy spring rainfalls typical of our southwestern deserts and are only bested by prolonged drought. These were among about a dozen beautiful tall blooming examples found growing in the hills of rural Santa Cruz County in southern Arizona.
    Parry's Penstemon
  • Also known as skyrocket, scarlet gilia is a very tall member of the phlox family and a favorite of hummingbirds, various moths, elk and deer. It can be found throughout most of the western half of the United States and north into British Columbia in rocky deserts, mountain meadows, and subalpine rock fields. Once the scarlet gilia blooms, the whole plant dies, but pollinated seeds will grow the next generation of these spectacular wildflowers! This four-foot tall scarlet gilia was photographed deep in the desert canyons south of Ellensburg, Washington.
    Scarlet Gilia
  • Close-up of the branches of the ocotillo, a somewhat common Southwestern plant found in most of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts. In the spring, the long, thorny spines sprout small green leaves and brilliantly orange flowers from the mature stems that attract and are pollinated by hummingbirds and carpenter bees. This one was found way out in SE California near the Arizona Border in Imperial County.
    Ocotillo Branch Close-Up
  • Close-up of the flowers of the ocotillo, a somewhat common Southwestern plant found in most of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts. In the spring, the long, thorny spines sprout small green leaves and brilliantly orange flowers from the mature stems that attract and are pollinated by hummingbirds and carpenter bees. This one was found way out in SE California near the Arizona Border in Imperial County.
    Ocotillo Flowers
  • Close-up of the flowers of the ocotillo, a somewhat common Southwestern plant found in most of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts. In the spring, the long, thorny spines sprout small green leaves and brilliantly orange flowers from the mature stems that attract and are pollinated by hummingbirds and carpenter bees. This one was found way out in SE California near the Arizona Border in Imperial County.
    Ocotillo Flowers
  • One of the most striking and beautiful of all the "barrel" cacti of the American Southwestern deserts, the claret cup cactus (also known regionally by many names such as the kingcup, queencup, hedgehog cactus, pitaya roja, etc.) has large, showy and brilliantly red flowers that attract and are pollinated by hummingbirds. Unlike most cacti, the flowers of the claret cup stay open at night. Some native American tribes who shared the same habitat would collect these cacti, burn off the sharp spines, and mash them into a pulp with some locally procured sweetener (honey?) and bake them into mini sweet cakes. This one was found and photographed on a beautiful spring day in the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in Central New Mexico.
    Claret Cup Cactus
  • One of the most striking and beautiful of all the "barrel" cacti of the American Southwestern deserts, the claret cup cactus (also known regionally by many names such as the kingcup, queencup, hedgehog cactus, pitaya roja, etc.) has large, showy and brilliantly red flowers that attract and are pollinated by hummingbirds. Unlike most cacti, the flowers of the claret cup stay open at night. Some native American tribes who shared the same habitat would collect these cacti, burn off the sharp spines, and mash them into a pulp with some locally procured sweetener (honey?) and bake them into mini sweet cakes. This one was found and photographed on a beautiful spring day in the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in Central New Mexico.
    Claret Cup Cactus
  • One of the most striking and beautiful of all the "barrel" cacti of the American Southwestern deserts, the claret cup cactus (also known regionally by many names such as the kingcup, queencup, hedgehog cactus, pitaya roja, etc.) has large, showy and brilliantly red flowers that attract and are pollinated by hummingbirds. Unlike most cacti, the flowers of the claret cup stay open at night. Some native American tribes who shared the same habitat would collect these cacti, burn off the sharp spines, and mash them into a pulp with some locally procured sweetener (honey?) and bake them into mini sweet cakes. This one was found and photographed on a beautiful spring day in the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in Central New Mexico.
    Claret Cup Cactus
  • One of the most striking and beautiful of all the "barrel" cacti of the American Southwestern deserts, the claret cup cactus (also known regionally by many names such as the kingcup, queencup, hedgehog cactus, pitaya roja, etc.) has large, showy and brilliantly red flowers that attract and are pollinated by hummingbirds. Unlike most cacti, the flowers of the claret cup stay open at night. Some native American tribes who shared the same habitat would collect these cacti, burn off the sharp spines, and mash them into a pulp with some locally procured sweetener (honey?) and bake them into mini sweet cakes. This one was found and photographed on a beautiful spring day in the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in Central New Mexico.
    Claret Cup Cactus
  • One of the most striking and beautiful of all the "barrel" cacti of the American Southwestern deserts, the claret cup cactus (also known regionally by many names such as the kingcup, queencup, hedgehog cactus, pitaya roja, etc.) has large, showy and brilliantly red flowers that attract and are pollinated by hummingbirds. Unlike most cacti, the flowers of the claret cup stay open at night. Some native American tribes who shared the same habitat would collect these cacti, burn off the sharp spines, and mash them into a pulp with some locally procured sweetener (honey?) and bake them into mini sweet cakes. This one was found and photographed on a beautiful spring day in the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in Central New Mexico.
    Claret Cup Cactus
  • One of the most striking and beautiful of all the "barrel" cacti of the American Southwestern deserts, the claret cup cactus (also known regionally by many names such as the kingcup, queencup, hedgehog cactus, pitaya roja, etc.) has large, showy and brilliantly red flowers that attract and are pollinated by hummingbirds. Unlike most cacti, the flowers of the claret cup stay open at night. Some native American tribes who shared the same habitat would collect these cacti, burn off the sharp spines, and mash them into a pulp with some locally procured sweetener (honey?) and bake them into mini sweet cakes. This one was found and photographed on a beautiful spring day in the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in Central New Mexico.
    Claret Cup Cactus
  • One of the most striking and beautiful of all the "barrel" cacti of the American Southwestern deserts, the claret cup cactus (also known regionally by many names such as the kingcup, queencup, hedgehog cactus, pitaya roja, etc.) has large, showy and brilliantly red flowers that attract and are pollinated by hummingbirds. Unlike most cacti, the flowers of the claret cup stay open at night. Some native American tribes who shared the same habitat would collect these cacti, burn off the sharp spines, and mash them into a pulp with some locally procured sweetener (honey?) and bake them into mini sweet cakes. This one was found and photographed on a beautiful spring day in the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in Central New Mexico.
    Claret Cup Cactus
  • One of the most striking and beautiful of all the "barrel" cacti of the American Southwestern deserts, the claret cup cactus (also known regionally by many names such as the kingcup, queencup, hedgehog cactus, pitaya roja, etc.) has large, showy and brilliantly red flowers that attract and are pollinated by hummingbirds. Unlike most cacti, the flowers of the claret cup stay open at night. Some native American tribes who shared the same habitat would collect these cacti, burn off the sharp spines, and mash them into a pulp with some locally procured sweetener (honey?) and bake them into mini sweet cakes. This one was found and photographed on a beautiful spring day in the Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Northwestern Texas.
    Claret Cup Cactus
  • One of the most striking and beautiful of all the "barrel" cacti of the American Southwestern deserts, the claret cup cactus (also known regionally by many names such as the kingcup, queencup, hedgehog cactus, pitaya roja, etc.) has large, showy and brilliantly red flowers that attract and are pollinated by hummingbirds. Unlike most cacti, the flowers of the claret cup stay open at night. Some native American tribes who shared the same habitat would collect these cacti, burn off the sharp spines, and mash them into a pulp with some locally procured sweetener (honey?) and bake them into mini sweet cakes. This one was found and photographed on a beautiful spring day in the Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Northwestern Texas.
    Claret Cup Cactus
  • One of the most striking and beautiful of all the "barrel" cacti of the American Southwestern deserts, the claret cup cactus (also known regionally by many names such as the kingcup, queencup, hedgehog cactus, pitaya roja, etc.) has large, showy and brilliantly red flowers that attract and are pollinated by hummingbirds. Unlike most cacti, the flowers of the claret cup stay open at night. Some native American tribes who shared the same habitat would collect these cacti, burn off the sharp spines, and mash them into a pulp with some locally procured sweetener (honey?) and bake them into mini sweet cakes. This one was found and photographed on a beautiful spring day in the Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Northwestern Texas.
    Claret Cup Cactus
  • One of the most striking and beautiful of all the "barrel" cacti of the American Southwestern deserts, the claret cup cactus (also known regionally by many names such as the kingcup, queencup, hedgehog cactus, pitaya roja, etc.) has large, showy and brilliantly red flowers that attract and are pollinated by hummingbirds. Unlike most cacti, the flowers of the claret cup stay open at night. Some native American tribes who shared the same habitat would collect these cacti, burn off the sharp spines, and mash them into a pulp with some locally procured sweetener (honey?) and bake them into mini sweet cakes. This one was found and photographed on a beautiful spring day in the Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Northwestern Texas.
    Claret Cup Cactus
  • One of the most striking and beautiful of all the "barrel" cacti of the American Southwestern deserts, the claret cup cactus (also known regionally by many names such as the kingcup, queencup, hedgehog cactus, pitaya roja, etc.) has large, showy and brilliantly red flowers that attract and are pollinated by hummingbirds. Unlike most cacti, the flowers of the claret cup stay open at night. Some native American tribes who shared the same habitat would collect these cacti, burn off the sharp spines, and mash them into a pulp with some locally procured sweetener (honey?) and bake them into mini sweet cakes. This one was found and photographed on a beautiful spring day in the Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Northwestern Texas.
    Claret Cup Cactus
  • One of the most striking and beautiful of all the "barrel" cacti of the American Southwestern deserts, the claret cup cactus (also known regionally by many names such as the kingcup, queencup, hedgehog cactus, pitaya roja, etc.) has large, showy and brilliantly red flowers that attract and are pollinated by hummingbirds. Unlike most cacti, the flowers of the claret cup stay open at night. Some native American tribes who shared the same habitat would collect these cacti, burn off the sharp spines, and mash them into a pulp with some locally procured sweetener (honey?) and bake them into mini sweet cakes. This one was found and photographed on a beautiful spring day in the Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Northwestern Texas.
    Claret Cup Cactus
  • One of the most striking and beautiful of all the "barrel" cacti of the American Southwestern deserts, the claret cup cactus (also known regionally by many names such as the kingcup, queencup, hedgehog cactus, pitaya roja, etc.) has large, showy and brilliantly red flowers that attract and are pollinated by hummingbirds. Unlike most cacti, the flowers of the claret cup stay open at night. Some native American tribes who shared the same habitat would collect these cacti, burn off the sharp spines, and mash them into a pulp with some locally procured sweetener (honey?) and bake them into mini sweet cakes. This one was found and photographed on a beautiful spring day in the Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Northwestern Texas.
    Claret Cup Cactus
  • One of the most striking and beautiful of all the "barrel" cacti of the American Southwestern deserts, the claret cup cactus (also known regionally by many names such as the kingcup, queencup, hedgehog cactus, pitaya roja, etc.) has large, showy and brilliantly red flowers that attract and are pollinated by hummingbirds. Unlike most cacti, the flowers of the claret cup stay open at night. Some native American tribes who shared the same habitat would collect these cacti, burn off the sharp spines, and mash them into a pulp with some locally procured sweetener (honey?) and bake them into mini sweet cakes. This one was found and photographed on a beautiful spring day in the Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Northwestern Texas.
    Claret Cup Cactus
  • One of the most striking and beautiful of all the "barrel" cacti of the American Southwestern deserts, the claret cup cactus (also known regionally by many names such as the kingcup, queencup, hedgehog cactus, pitaya roja, etc.) has large, showy and brilliantly red flowers that attract and are pollinated by hummingbirds. Unlike most cacti, the flowers of the claret cup stay open at night. Some native American tribes who shared the same habitat would collect these cacti, burn off the sharp spines, and mash them into a pulp with some locally procured sweetener (honey?) and bake them into mini sweet cakes. This one was found and photographed on a beautiful spring day in the Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Northwestern Texas.
    Claret Cup Cactus
  • Not really a honeysuckle but a member of the acanthus family, the desert honeysuckle is frequently visited by hummingbirds. This one was found growing next to a field in Patagonia, Arizona.
    Desert Honeysuckle
  • The common red elderberry is found throughout most of North America, excluding the Gulf coastal plain and the states of South Carolina, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Kansas. Not as often used as it once was in the past, elderberries are known to make fantastic jellies and wines. The very fragrant white flowers in spring attract many species of hummingbirds and butterflies. Traditionally used medicinally by Native Americas - the inner bark was sometimes used as a diuretic or as a way to induce vomiting. These were found and photographed in the North Cascades just east of Mount Baker in Washington State.
    Red Elderberry
  • This beautiful native honeysuckle is commonly found in forests and disturbed areas throughout the Pacific Northwest. As an important food source for hummingbirds, the sweet nectar also attracts moths at night. Native tribes have used the vines for making baskets, and the leaves were used in women's health as a tea to encourage lactation and ease cramps.
    Orange Trumpet Honeysuckle
  • American germander, also known as Canadian germander or wood sage, is a native member of the mint family. It is found growing wild in moist or wet habitats in every American continental state and every Canadian  province except for Newfoundland, Alberta and Alaska. Pollinated by long-tongued species of the bee family, it also attracts many types of butterflies and hummingbirds. This freshly blooming germander was photographed on the Arkansas/Missouri border next to a lake in early summer.
    American Germander
  • The red columbine has had a significant role in its habitat and ecology. As an important food source for hummingbirds, it has had a historical importance for native American tribes as both a medicine and a perfume.
    Red Columbine
  • This mountain forest-loving red-flowering currant may not produce the edible currants many of us love to eat, but these flowers will certainly draw many spring hummingbirds! Color varies from bright red to pale pink.
    Red-flowering Currant
  • A beautiful cluster of cardinal airplants in bloom growing in a cypress tree in the Florida Everglades near Homestead. These endangered epiphytes are often visited by hummingbirds.
    Cardinal Airplant (Tillandsia fascic..ata)
  • Also known as skyrocket, scarlet gilia is a very tall member of the phlox family and a favorite of hummingbirds, various moths, elk and deer. It can be found throughout most of the western half of the United States and north into British Columbia in rocky deserts, mountain meadows, and subalpine rock fields. Once the scarlet gilia blooms, the whole plant dies, but pollinated seeds will grow the next generation of these spectacular wildflowers! This four-foot tall scarlet gilia was photographed deep in the desert canyons south of Ellensburg, Washington.
    Scarlet Gilia
  • Also known as skyrocket, scarlet gilia is a very tall member of the phlox family and a favorite of hummingbirds, various moths, elk and deer. It can be found throughout most of the western half of the United States and north into British Columbia in rocky deserts, mountain meadows, and subalpine rock fields. Once the scarlet gilia blooms, the whole plant dies, but pollinated seeds will grow the next generation of these spectacular wildflowers! This four-foot tall scarlet gilia was photographed deep in the desert canyons south of Ellensburg, Washington.
    Scarlet Gilia
  • Close-up of the branches of the ocotillo, a somewhat common Southwestern plant found in most of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts. In the spring, the long, thorny spines sprout small green leaves and brilliantly orange flowers from the mature stems that attract and are pollinated by hummingbirds and carpenter bees. This one was found way out in SE California near the Arizona Border in Imperial County.
    Ocotillo Branch Close-Up
  • One of the most striking and beautiful of all the "barrel" cacti of the American Southwestern deserts, the claret cup cactus (also known regionally by many names such as the kingcup, queencup, hedgehog cactus, pitaya roja, etc.) has large, showy and brilliantly red flowers that attract and are pollinated by hummingbirds. Unlike most cacti, the flowers of the claret cup stay open at night. Some native American tribes who shared the same habitat would collect these cacti, burn off the sharp spines, and mash them into a pulp with some locally procured sweetener (honey?) and bake them into mini sweet cakes. This one was found and photographed on a beautiful spring day in the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in Central New Mexico.
    Claret Cup Cactus
  • One of the most striking and beautiful of all the "barrel" cacti of the American Southwestern deserts, the claret cup cactus (also known regionally by many names such as the kingcup, queencup, hedgehog cactus, pitaya roja, etc.) has large, showy and brilliantly red flowers that attract and are pollinated by hummingbirds. Unlike most cacti, the flowers of the claret cup stay open at night. Some native American tribes who shared the same habitat would collect these cacti, burn off the sharp spines, and mash them into a pulp with some locally procured sweetener (honey?) and bake them into mini sweet cakes. This one was found and photographed on a beautiful spring day in the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in Central New Mexico.
    Claret Cup Cactus
  • One of the most striking and beautiful of all the "barrel" cacti of the American Southwestern deserts, the claret cup cactus (also known regionally by many names such as the kingcup, queencup, hedgehog cactus, pitaya roja, etc.) has large, showy and brilliantly red flowers that attract and are pollinated by hummingbirds. Unlike most cacti, the flowers of the claret cup stay open at night. Some native American tribes who shared the same habitat would collect these cacti, burn off the sharp spines, and mash them into a pulp with some locally procured sweetener (honey?) and bake them into mini sweet cakes. This one was found and photographed on a beautiful spring day in the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in Central New Mexico.
    Claret Cup Cactus
  • One of the most striking and beautiful of all the "barrel" cacti of the American Southwestern deserts, the claret cup cactus (also known regionally by many names such as the kingcup, queencup, hedgehog cactus, pitaya roja, etc.) has large, showy and brilliantly red flowers that attract and are pollinated by hummingbirds. Unlike most cacti, the flowers of the claret cup stay open at night. Some native American tribes who shared the same habitat would collect these cacti, burn off the sharp spines, and mash them into a pulp with some locally procured sweetener (honey?) and bake them into mini sweet cakes. This one was found and photographed on a beautiful spring day in the Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Northwestern Texas.
    Claret Cup Cactus
  • One of the most striking and beautiful of all the "barrel" cacti of the American Southwestern deserts, the claret cup cactus (also known regionally by many names such as the kingcup, queencup, hedgehog cactus, pitaya roja, etc.) has large, showy and brilliantly red flowers that attract and are pollinated by hummingbirds. Unlike most cacti, the flowers of the claret cup stay open at night. Some native American tribes who shared the same habitat would collect these cacti, burn off the sharp spines, and mash them into a pulp with some locally procured sweetener (honey?) and bake them into mini sweet cakes. This one was found and photographed on a beautiful spring day in the Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Northwestern Texas.
    Claret Cup Cactus
  • Although not really a cactus, the ocotillo is a somewhat common Southwestern plant found in most of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts. In the spring, the long, thorny spines sprout small green leaves and brilliantly orange flowers from the mature stems that attract and are pollinated by hummingbirds and carpenter bees.
    Ocotillo Flowers
  • Although not really a cactus, the ocotillo is a somewhat common Southwestern plant found in most of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts. In the spring, the long, thorny spines sprout small green leaves and brilliantly orange flowers from the mature stems that attract and are pollinated by hummingbirds and carpenter bees.
    Ocotillo Flowers
  • Easily the most beautiful of all of the native currants that grow wild in the Pacific Northwest, the waxy current is also one of the most flavorless. I actually ate one of these after the shot and there was no sweetness or taste, just texture which I thought was very strange. Apparently not so to the hummingbirds, who take advantage of these early spring bloomers to feed on the nectar of the tubular white flowers where they might be the only flowers available to them at the time.
    Wax Currant