El Paso by proxy

This morning I had an email from a blog follower in El Paso with photos of a Blue-throated Hummingbird that he wanted ID confirmation on.  I told him it looked like one to me (from his not so great photos), but just to be totally sure, and not knowing if that was a rarity for El Paso, I consulted with Kelly. Seems El Paso didn't have documentation of that species, so Kelly contacted the experts in El Paso, including Barry Zimmer. Zimmer went and photographed it late this afternoon. Good thing that species isn't a lifer for me because I could not justify driving to El Paso to see it. So I enjoyed the sighting vicariously, as well as with Barry's wonderful photos. Here's my favorite.

Photo by Barry Zimmer

A week ago I went to Marathon and took this picture with my cell phone at Gage Gardens and forgot it was on my phone since I hardly every use it. But I had wanted to post it, so better late than never.