The desert Southwest is the hummingbird capital of the United States. Two states dominate the all-time lists, with Texas holding the longest at nineteen recorded species and Arizona just behind. But Arizona is where you actually see them: at least thirteen species turn up annually, and on a good August morning in the right canyon you can watch six to twelve different kinds of hummingbird at a single bank of feeders. Birders fly in from around the world for exactly that.

The reason is a combination of two things: proximity to Mexico, which sends tropical species drifting north across the border, and elevation, which stacks half a dozen climates on top of each other within a few miles. Add a summer rainy season that triggers a second spring, and you get a region with a hummingbird calendar unlike anywhere else in North America.

The Two Things That Shape Southwest Hummingbirds

Elevation does what latitude does elsewhere. In southeastern Arizona and New Mexico, isolated mountain ranges rise abruptly from the desert floor, the so-called sky islands: the Huachucas, Chiricahuas, and Santa Ritas. Drive from Tucson up a canyon and you pass from saguaro desert through oak grassland into pine forest in under an hour. Each band holds different hummingbirds. Costa’s and Broad-billed live in the low desert; Blue-throated Mountain-gem and Rivoli’s occupy the shaded canyons above.

The monsoon creates a second spring. Thunderstorms arriving in July and August break the early-summer heat and set off a genuine second wildflower bloom. For hummingbirds this is the year’s great feast, and it coincides with birds moving south from farther north. The result is the single biggest concentration of hummingbird species anywhere in the United States, from roughly late July into early September.

The Species You’ll See

Low desert residents and regulars

Costa’s Hummingbird, the desert specialist, with a violet crown and a gorget that flares back like a mustache. It breeds in late winter and often leaves the desert during the worst summer heat.

Anna’s Hummingbird is increasingly common and often year-round in the low desert, with a rose-pink crown and throat.

Broad-billed Hummingbird, a stunner: deep blue-green with a vivid blue throat and a bright red, black-tipped bill.

Black-chinned Hummingbird, the region’s great generalist, at home from desert washes to city gardens. Its throat looks plain black until light reveals a thin violet band, and it pumps its tail while hovering.

Mountain and migrant species

Broad-tailed Hummingbird, a bird of high mountain meadows, announced by the loud metallic trill the male’s wings make in flight.

Rufous Hummingbird, passing through in numbers on its southward journey through the Rockies in late summer.

Calliope Hummingbird, the smallest bird in the United States, another late-summer migrant.

The borderland specialties

These are the birds people travel for, Mexican species whose ranges barely cross into the United States:

• Rivoli’s Hummingbird, large and dark with a green gorget and purple crown, known as the Magnificent Hummingbird until a 2017 split
• Blue-throated Mountain-gem, the largest hummingbird breeding in the United States
• Violet-crowned Hummingbird, unusual for its clean white underparts and red bill
• Lucifer Hummingbird, identified by its distinctly downcurved bill
• White-eared and Berylline Hummingbirds, both rare but close to annual in the sky islands
• Plain-capped Starthroat, a genuine rarity that draws crowds when one appears

The article on North American species covers the ones you are most likely to encounter, and how hummingbirds differ from every other bird explains why this family alone produces such a spread of forms across so short a distance.

The Southwest Hummingbird Calendar

Unlike most of the country, the Southwest has two peaks rather than one.

Late March to May. Migrants return and the first peak builds through mid-April and May. Costa’s, meanwhile, has been breeding since February in the low desert, timed to chuparosa and ocotillo rather than the calendar.

June. The hot, dry pre-monsoon stretch. Desert flowers fade, and some low-desert birds move to cooler ground.

July to early September. The monsoon arrives and everything changes. Wildflowers bloom a second time, temperatures ease, and northern migrants pour south. This is the peak: the greatest diversity of hummingbird species found anywhere in the United States, with six to twelve species possible at once in the sky-island canyons.

October onward. Most species have departed for Mexico by early October. In the low desert, Anna’s and Costa’s often remain, and the occasional Blue-throated or Rivoli’s overwinters in the canyons. Feeders in the low desert rarely need to come down at all.

Where to Go

The Southwest is one of the few regions where hummingbird watching is a destination activity, and these places are worth the drive:

• Ramsey Canyon Preserve in the Huachuca Mountains, a Nature Conservancy property often called the hummingbird capital of Arizona
• Madera Canyon in the Santa Ritas
• Paton Center for Hummingbirds in Patagonia, a legendary backyard turned public sanctuary
• Ash Canyon, traditionally the most reliable spot in the United States for Lucifer Hummingbird
• Miller Canyon, which holds the single-day record for hummingbird species seen in the United States

Late July through early September is the window.

Don’t overlook West Texas. The Davis Mountains and Big Bend function as a second, smaller version of Arizona’s sky islands, drawing many of the same species across the Rio Grande. Brewster County, which contains Big Bend, is the most species-rich hummingbird area in the United States outside southeastern Arizona, with eleven species recorded regularly. Lucifer Hummingbird is the signature Big Bend specialty, and one many American birders travel specifically to see.

What to Plant in the Southwest

Plant by your elevation, because what thrives in Tucson will struggle in Flagstaff.

Low desert: chuparosa, which supplies critical winter nectar, ocotillo, whose spring bloom fuels the breeding season, desert willow, agave, and desert honeysuckle.

Southeastern canyons and mid-elevations: Parry’s penstemon and firecracker penstemon, both outstanding.

High country: desert columbine and Rocky Mountain penstemon.

The general rule holds everywhere: native, tubular, red or orange flowers. Aim for something in bloom across as much of the year as possible, and skip broad-spectrum pesticides so that the small insects hummingbirds need for protein survive to be eaten. Our guide to designing a garden hummingbirds return to covers layout and bloom succession in more detail.

One regional warning: in desert heat, nectar spoils fast. Change it daily when temperatures are high, keep feeders in shade, and clean them every refill. A fermenting feeder in a Phoenix July is a genuine hazard rather than a minor lapse, since spoiled nectar and dirty ports are a route to the fungal infections that kill hummingbirds. Our nectar recipe and feeder guide covers mixing and the cleaning routine.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many hummingbird species live in the Southwest?

Texas has the longest all-time state list at nineteen species, with Arizona just behind. Arizona sees the most in practice, with at least thirteen recorded annually, and six to twelve can be seen at once at good sites during the late-summer peak.

When is the best time to see hummingbirds in Arizona?

Late July through early September, when the monsoon triggers a second wildflower bloom and northern migrants move through. A second, smaller peak occurs in mid-April and May.

What is the monsoon’s effect on hummingbirds?

Summer thunderstorms break the heat and set off a second spring of wildflower blooming, creating the year’s richest feeding conditions just as migrants arrive from the north.

Where are the best places to see hummingbirds in the Southwest?

Ramsey Canyon, Madera Canyon, the Paton Center in Patagonia, Ash Canyon, and Miller Canyon, all in southeastern Arizona. West Texas is the other hotspot, with Big Bend and the Davis Mountains drawing many of the same species.

Should I feed hummingbirds year-round in the desert?

In the low desert, yes. Anna’s and Costa’s often remain through winter, so there is rarely a reason to take feeders down. Change nectar daily in summer heat.

What should I plant for hummingbirds in the desert?

Chuparosa and ocotillo above all, plus desert willow, agave, and desert honeysuckle in the low desert, with penstemons at higher elevations.

Conclusion

There is no better place in the United States to be a hummingbird watcher than a southeastern Arizona canyon in August, with the monsoon clouds stacking up over the peaks and a dozen species jostling at the feeders. But you do not need to make the pilgrimage to take part. A desert garden with chuparosa and ocotillo, a clean feeder changed daily through the heat, and a little shade will bring a share of that extraordinary diversity into an ordinary backyard.