Every photography trip I go on, there seems to be one breakout star of the trip. At Madera Canyon last month, we actually had two stars, the Berylline Hummingbird and the Rivoli’s Hummingbird. The Berylline, who the past couple of years has been a tease, visited every day and seemed to favor the feeders at one end of our shooting gallery. But, to me, the true star was the Rivoli’s, the second largest hummingbird in North America. In past years, we had one or two throughout the week and their visits always provoked excitement. This year, we had several males and at least a female or two. We were told that at least a couple of the Rivoli’s had wintered over in Madera Canyon, becoming year-round residents. We always knew they were approaching as their loud hum was quite distinctive. Over the years, I have come to think of the Rivoli’s as kind of the epitome of the Madera Canyon hummingbirds. Seeing one makes my visit there complete.