Hummingbirds in late fall weather - doing their best to stay fueled

                Hummingbirds that winter over in Las Vegas NV need to keep their energy levels up. During the day it is necessary for them to gain weight in order to survive the cold, long night of winter. In the depth of winter this may mean doubling their morning weight. Yet winter also sees a lessening of flowers and insects that serve to feed the birds, so feeders become even more important to them now than during the warm summer months.

                My feeders get their first customers at dawn and the last ones just before it gets truly dark, long after the sun has officially set. I try not to disturb them at these times, since in the morning they are taking their first high-calorie food of the day and in the evening they are taking their last feeding that will have the get them through the night.

                When we had three days of chilly rain here in Las Vegas my feeders were really hopping. I know for people living in other parts of the country temperatures in the 40s don’t sound so bad, but we’d been having temperatures in the upper 60s in the weeks before. The change was hard on me and the birds both. I handled it by turning on my furnace. The birds handled it by consuming more feed than normal.

Anna's Hummingbird female watching 'her' north side feeder. My neighbors bottle brush is her favorite place to sit and keep an eye out for intruders.

                I watched as my female Anna’s hummingbird came to the north side feeder in the rain. All the while she drank she had to keep ruffling her feathers to shake the rain off. Sometimes she stayed on the perch for awhile just to conserve energy before she took her next drink.

She's trying to keep the rain off. Notice the rain drops on the feeder.

               

Waiting for the sun to come out, early morning after the rain finally stopped.

My patio feeder is under the patio cover, so birds there had the advantage of being out of the rain. Their problem is that it is also where my finch feeder is. Finches use the hummingbird feeders as take off points for getting to the thistle seed sock. At times the arrival of the bigger bird causes the tiny hummer to fly off. At other times they happily coexist on the feeder. The hummer sits there without even noticing the giant on the next perch.

Juvenile male Anna's getting a drink where it's dry. Notice the pink feathers to the right of his eye.

                During the rains only the Anna’s hummingbird came to my feeders. After the rains were over, on November 25, I had my front door open to let in the welcome sunshine and listen to the bird songs. I could hear the whistle of the Costa’s hummingbird. I hadn’t heard that sound for weeks. I thought for sure the Costa’s had left me for the Colorado River, where winter temperatures average about ten degrees warmer than here in Las Vegas. I kept listening, trying to decide if I were mistaken, but no; it was the Costa’s song.

                Then that afternoon I was sitting on my couch talking on the phone, binoculars and camera within reach, when I saw the Costa’s come to the feeder. I grabbed the binoculars and looked to be sure that was what I was seeing. Then I grabbed the camera and with one hand pointed it at the bird, hoping for a usable picture. The lighting wasn’t the best, so I had to use a bright filter to bring out the details, but the picture is proof that my Costa’s is definitely still with me, putting up with the cooler temperatures as we move into winter in Las Vegas.

Proof that my Costa's male is still with me!

November sees winter birds - activity under the hummingbird feeder

                I didn’t have to wait long to find out which birds would come to my yard in Las Vegas NV for wintering feed and when they would come. The first of November I saw a small bird feeding under the thistle seed sack, but when I approached to look, it quickly flew away. However I did get a look at the tail as it flitted over the wall. It had the tell-tale white outer tail feathers of a junco. So I was confident that at least one had come to check out the food supply. I also kept getting glimpses of one lone mourning dove, who would quickly exit the scene as soon as he saw me looking.

My one and only Mourning dove feeding on spilled seeds

                I thought I heard the familiar call of the White-crowned sparrow. I listened but didn’t hear it again. It might have been my old friend the mockingbird mocking me, but I didn’t hear the usual follow up for that. So I couldn’t know if the White-crowns were back or not.

Juvenile White-crowned sparrow associating with a mixed flock of juncos

                Then came November 4, 2013, and all the wintering bird species that I had been on the lookout for descended upon my place, en masse. Not only did they come to feed, they stayed around long enough for me to take pictures of them.

Dark-headed version of the Dark-eyed junco

                I was alerted to the presence by the chittering and chipping that I heard out in the back yard. Dark-eyed juncos, both the dark-headed and gray-headed varieties, were flitting around, talking to each other as they fed on the seeds dropped by the finches. Two finches were on the sock, while another fed on the ground, waiting for his turn on the sock. A single mourning dove serenely walked in the midst of all this hubbub of little birds. One juvenile White-crowned sparrow who was hanging out with the flock of juncos also fed on the ground. Later a solitary House sparrow joined the groups, feeding on the sock and on the ground.

House sparrow males feeds with two house finches on the thistle seed sock

                There was no less activity at the hummingbird feeder. Constantly throughout the day hummingbirds came to drink sweet water. There were female Anna’s, males Anna’s and juvenile Anna’s, then much to my surprise, a mature male Costa’s. The reason the last was a surprise is because I haven’t heard the Costa’s whistle since the first of November so I thought they had left me. No, I could see the very recognizable gorget flaring out to the side as he drank while seated on the perch. The Costa’s is still very much here in Las Vegas, NV.

                The only problem with all this feeding activity is that it makes it hard for me to go out and take care of my plants. I really don’t want to disturb all my visiting birds!

Hummingbird in the hand in Las Vegas NV – when all else fails

                What is it about autumn that brings in the hummingbirds? I could make some wild guesses but I am sure none of them would be entirely correct. Whatever the cause, I had a third hummer in the house on Thursday, October 31, 2013.

                 I was busy in the back room for quite awhile. When I came to the kitchen at 12:17 pm I immediately heard the chatter of a hummingbird. My two cats were watching the Palladian window. I knew immediately what I would see – another hummingbird trying to use that window as an escape hatch. Well, at least this time I knew what to do. I went through the house closing all the blinds. I also closed the door to any room that was bright enough to serve as a distraction. Since she was frantically throwing herself against the glass I figured I needed to get the broom, too.

                As I approached her I could see that she was not stopping to rest like the males had done. She was constantly in motion, so no need for the camera. I put the broom bristle between her and the glass. Instead of turning and flying out the window she grabbed a bristle with one foot and held on for dear life. She didn’t even bother to fold her wings. She just hung there as though she was stuck to the broom with wings splayed out and the other foot still curled up as though in flight. I found this posture alarming. I was afraid that somehow she was stuck to the broom.

                My priority was to safely get her out of the house. I figured if she were stuck to the broom I would take care of it outside where she could fly off without hindrance. So I carried the broom with her clinging to the bristles through the house and out to the backyard. There I thought she would fly off if she could.

                No, she just stayed splayed out on the broom. Finally I carefully reached down and pulled her away, using one had to hold the broom and the other to lift her off. Once in my hand she just lay there. She was totally exhausted. She didn’t even settle her wings or unclench her foot. Basically she was sprawled out on the palm of my hand.

Tired hummer in hand

                Now I had a bird in hand, but no camera. My dogs weren’t any help. It was up to me to get the camera. I didn’t want to go back into the house with the little female Anna’s in my hand. I was concerned that she would get upset and try to fly off. Fortunately the camera was in its usual spot, on the piano right inside the door. I kept the hand with the bird outside while I stretched the other hand back into the house and grabbed the camera.

If you enlarge this photo you can see that even her bill is iridescent

                Now I had camera in hand, but only had one hand to use to take the picture. Thanks goodness for point and shoot cameras. I couldn’t even be sure that I was pointing at the bird. I just kept moving the camera around hoping I’d get a picture. I managed 10 shots, some turned out and others didn’t. I took the last one at 12:25.

Enlarge this photo and look carefully at the tear drop on her throat. You can see one rose colored feather.

 I kept taking her back to the feeder, but she showed no interest in moving onto the perch. At one point she closed her eyes. Finally she unclenched her one foot and settled her wings and just rested.

She stayed in that position for a few more minutes and then off she went, free as a bird, and flew away over the wall and out of sight.

I really must get that screen on my door and the shutter on the window to prevent any more hummingbird-in-the-house excitement.