Stevens Family Calendar: June

This is part of a series about the Stevens Family Calendar (if you know, you know).

The page features birds, bugs and flowers

I am a birder. Caty likes photographing raptors and colorful birds. Scott likes raptors. Becca hates birds (but that is not relevent here). 

What is relevant is that it is inevitable that birds appear in the calendar. 

They can be pretty. They can be dramatic. And, they can be very different from all the other photos – or the other birds I have posted over the years. 

Yes, there are birds throughout the calendar (just look at the cover!), but this page is the catch-all for birds we photographed during our travels and at home. Plus, it has a smattering of bugs, butterflies and flowers, leading to lots and lots of color.

There were two main reasons I needed a bird page ...

#1: The hundreds of incredible photos I got of Horned Puffins on a small island (location to be kept secret) in Cook Inlet in Alaska. 

Not only did I have close-up-and-personal access, but they were
on a rocky cliff studded with colorful wildflowers; this is on the calendar page

#2: The other was some incredible Hummingbird photos that Caty got in southern Arizona. 

She worked very hard to get them and it paid off. You already saw the hovering Broad-billed Hummingbird that appeared on the cover and the dispute that shows up in the opening ...

 

It takes good reflexes and camera knowledge to capture these speedy birds; Photos: Caty Stevens

But, there were a few more great ones ...

Caty captured Costa's, Black-chinned and Rivoli's Hummingbirds while in Arizona

... and, this one was, by far, the winner ...

A darn-near perfect photo of a Broad-billed Hummingbird by Caty Stevens

I like this one, too, but not as much

I even managed to get a few in the runner-up bucket, but (for obvious reasons), they didn't make the cut.

A nesting Black-chinned and a female Calliope Hummingbird

Just like last month, the photos on the main page are closely aligned with the little squares on the calendar page, so here it is before I discuss any other photos. 

A Trumpeter Swan Caty shot is on the back cover

I also want to point out that I have discussed (and will discuss in future posts) a number of raptors and a smattering of other birds. I am not going to include all them in this page just to prevent any more redundancy that I already have. But, some do appear again. 

I wish there was some logic to it, but there really isn't.

Before I took that little break, I was discussing Arizona, which is a great birding destination. Hummingbirds weren't the only birds we saw there.

These four show up in the calendar: Summer Tanager (cover),
Acorn Woodpecker (calendar page), Indigo Bunting and
Hepatic Tanager (main page); Acorn Woodpecker photo: Caty Stevens

These were not selected: Brown Creeper, Elegant Trogon and Scott's Oriole;
Middle Photo: Caty Stevens

These two Woodpeckers (Arizona and Acorn) also both missed out

Of course, when we were in Ecuador, I photographed a lot of beautiful and colorful birds and butterflies. When putting the initial candidate together, I exercised a lot of restraint because I had so, so many colorful birds in the 2023 calendar. 

I went to Costa Rica in 2022 and did this page in the 2023 calendar; see what I mean?

Still, I ended up with lots of birds ...

... a Many-banded Aracari on the cover and a Blue-footed Booby on the April main page ...

... an American Flamingo and Hoatzin on the April pages ...

An Opal-crowned Tanager, left, on the April page; the Red Cracker Butterfly
and Masked Tanager on the June main page ...

... a Gray-capped Flycatcher and Malachite Butterfly in small squares on the calendar page
and a Green-and-gold Tanager on the June main page 

 I covered all the rejected ones except this Blue Morpho and Red Cracker Butterfly from Ecuador plus this Gulf Fritillary from Hawai'i that is in the opening section

When we spent Thanksgiving 2022 in Hawai'i, I photographed a lot of pretty birds  ...

An Orange-cheeked Waxbill is on the calendar page and a Ring-necked Pheasant is on the cover ...

... plus lots of red: an 'Apapane, left, is on the calendar page and an 'I'iwi and 'Apapane, right,
didn't get selected; Right photos: Caty Stevens

Three photos of the adorable little Warbling White-eyes were in the running;
we selected the left one for the main page

Of course, we photograph birds all year long in multiple places, when we're traveling and, sometimes, at home. 

Two favorites that just missed out: an American Robin in Cheyenne Canyon near our house
and a White-breasted Nuthatch in our backyard

The Bohemian Waxwing on the left was also in Cheyenne Canyon and
the Hunt's Bumblebee was in Nevada; both are on the main page

This Ruby-crowned Kinglet almost showed up on the October page; I shot it
in the fall on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Two perspectives on a Vermilion Flycatcher in Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge;
the one on the right won out and is on the back cover

I always intend to include lots of colorful flowers, but they almost always get beaten out by birds. Here are some from Alaska and Hawai'i that I considered ...

Pretty colors

Next month's page is all about Alaska, but I did include some shots from the 50th state.

Three from the calendar page: Flowers flanking a Golden-crowned Sparrow

Not used: Two singing Pacific Wrens flanking a much-sought-after Gray-crowned Rosy Finch

And, that brings me back to the Puffins. The area where they were nesting was absolutely magical and I took countless photos. 

This one ended up with prominent position on the main page ...

... and these weren't used ...

... nor were these

I don't think we'll ever not have a bird page. The character changes each year, but the variety keeps them coming back (and 2025 should have a huge Penguin contingent).

That's it for June. As I said, we'll visit Alaska next.

This photo of the Holgate Glacier wasn't chosen for the July page