Davis Mountains Hummingbird Festival weekend

CMO might have set a record today for the number of birders or vehicles there at one time. I was expecting, like, half the 13 vehicles, or I could have done a better job parking them. Some vehicles parked along the road. I didn't count heads, but I'm sure there were between 30-40 hummingbird festival participants at CMO this morning. And anyone who hadn't already seen a Lucifer Hummingbird got their lifer today.

I had to come back to town afterwards. So frustrating, when I went down to CMO Wednesday I forgot my spare camera battery. Then today I came to town, where the battery was, to discover I had left the charger at the oasis. Living in two places can be a pain when you're overwhelmed with so much to remember. 

Also frustrating that 30 miles north of CMO got an inch of rain last night and still none at CMO. Not too long ago 10 miles south got a lot of rain and none at CMO. I just have to believe I'll get at least one good monsoonal rain yet this season. And that will top my tanks off until next year's rainy season.

Sometimes, driving to town I see the herd of oryx at the O2 Ranch. Recently I learned that species is extinct in the wild. so I felt motivated to get a photo of them. Known as the Scimitar-horned or Sahara Oryx, the most interesting thing about them is that in drought they can raise their body temperature by several degrees, up to 116° F, which causes them to conserve water by avoiding sweating.

The herd was so scattered that I couldn't get them all in one photo.