By Dan Groebner, AZGFD

So where else can you feel like you’re part of a living rainbow, even without a cloud in sight or molecule of water vapor in the air? This dynamic dance of prismatic brilliance occurs every year during the Annual White Mountain Hummingbird Festival at the Game and Fish Sipe White Mountain Wildlife Area. Hundreds of acrobatic aerialists entertain attendees by darting from one feeder to another, almost as if they are waiting their turn in line to be photographed or banded.  

This year’s festival is on July 27, from 8 am to 12 Noon at the Sipe Wildlife area just a few miles south of Springerville/Eagar off of Highway 191 on the way to Alpine.  The entrance to the event will be well signed.   The festivities are free and sponsored by the Arizona Game and Fish Department, but donations of sugar in 5 lb. packages are needed and is what keeps the hummingbird feeders full at the wildlife area.

Once again, Sherrie Williamson and Tom Woods, founders of the Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory (SABO), will invite attendees into the world of their hummingbird banding studies in the 21st consecutive year of this watchable wildlife event.

In addition to hearing from two of the world’s foremost authorities on hummingbirds, the festival will also include a host of displays from different local organizations, kids’ activities, access to hiking trails and the interesting visitor center, as well as informative talks and cash sales of food since there is no cellular coverage at the wildlife area.  

Breakfast burritos and tacos will be provided by the local Loncheria El Pelon. Cloth hummingbird bags and Game and Fish shirts will also be sold by the AGFD Employees Association.

As part of a long-term study, Sherrie and Tom band birds throughout the Southwest, hoping that they recapture the same bird, or another bander gets lucky at another site and then reports the recapture in a master database. It is only through this meticulous, time-consuming and long-term work that we know about so many of the amazing hummingbird talents. Trained volunteers from SABO assist Sherrie and Tom with gently transferring birds from a trap to be banded, examined and measured in front of a quietly seated crowd.

Since banding and measuring hummingbirds is such precise work, and only so many people can sit on the benches to see, these activities will be captured by a close-up video camera and retransmitted to a large monitor in the Visitor Center conference room to allow more people to see the skilled work of the banders. 

As Tom and Sherrie take and record vital measurement on the captured birds, they explain why they feel it is important to put a few birds through some temporary stress to learn so much about not only that species of hummingbirds, but their habitat and the environment as well.

Booths set up on the lush grass of the front lawn of the Visitor Center will include displays of hummingbird friendly landscaping plants, wildlife education, and photo opportunities with critters from the local R Lazy J Wildlife Ranch and the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s Wildlife Center.  

The U.S. Forest Service will host an informational booth as well as providing kids with the opportunity to become a Junior Ranger through an hour-long program hosted in the nearby shaded orchard area with other kid’s activities. This program will help budding biologists enjoy the outdoors more by learning about wildlife, fire safety, navigating with a map, and how to be safe while enjoying the outdoors. On top of that, there might even be a word puzzle or fun maze thrown in just to keep everybody interested.

Youngsters can make songbird and hummingbird feeders as long as the limited number of kits last. Blossoming artists can exhibit their skills by drawing and coloring in the provided line art of hummingbirds or some of the fascinating feathers that will be on display.

During this morning only event, Tom Woods and Dan Groebner, Game and Fish Region I Nongame Biologist, will provide interpretive talks away from the banding activities just on the other side of the Visitor Center to help spread the crowd out and provide another opportunity for questions and answers. Tom will discuss hummingbird natural history and review some of the recent discoveries his Bird Observatory has helped uncover while Dan will highlight some of the best birding hotspots in the White Mountains, how to get there, and how to identify as many birds as possible.

Visitors to the Sipe Wildlife Area can also hike the trails that overlook the nearby perennial Rudd Creek and survey the recent stream restoration efforts intended to stop bank erosion and stream siltation. If the weather gets too warm for you, or rain is threatening, you can always take in the interesting and informative interpretive displays in the Visitor Center.

Following the huge success of last year, Tom Woods will also provide an “encore performance” with a PowerPoint slide presentation on that Saturday evening of the 27th but in Pinetop/Lakeside at the White Mountain Nature Center at 6:00 pm. Tom’s presentation at the Nature Center will be different than his talk at the Hummingbird Festival, as he will be able to show some stunning photographs and will discuss his growing interest in the revolutionary new telemetry tracking system called Motus. This new system allows researchers to track small migrating wildlife thousands of miles from their wintering grounds to their nesting areas.

So, if the buzzing, chipping, chuppiting, tinkling, and twittering songs of nature’s airborne bling at close range doesn’t bother you, spend the morning at the Sipe Wildlife Area on July 27th and get to know our little hummers a little better!



Tom and Sherrie’s presentation at the White Mountain Nature Center and the Hummingbird Festival is made possible through a generous donation from The Kull – Pinetop’s Only Bed and Breakfast, and the Arizona Heritage Fund. For more information about the Hummingbird Festival, call Arizona Game and Fish at (928) 532-2308.