Costa’s hummingbird owns my yard in Las Vegas – C Hummer gets tamer

                Let’s be honest. I thought this was my place, but no. I my own the house, but C Hummer owns the yard. When I sit outside on a pleasant afternoon he buzzes by me, sits in the bush next to me and scolds. When I take the feeder in to refill, he lets me know that is his feeder by zipping around me and scolding. The last time I sat outside, when we had a record breaking high of 75 on December 22, C Hummer sat right over my head on the bill of the hummingbird wind chime and whistled, letting me know that was his territory.

               

Looking down on C Hummer, I'm only a few feet away!

Yes, without doubt he owns the place. With ownership comes confidence and confidence he has a plenty. Just as it is getting light in the morning, I return from walking the dogs. We come around the corner of the house where a Texas sage grows in the corner between the garage and the kitchen. I often hear his chirp coming from the bush or see him hovering in the heart of it. On one morning this week, I stopped to watch for him when I heard the hum of his wings. I saw him hovering. Then he spotted me and dogs. He came within a foot of my face and sat on a small branch watching me. He sat there looked at me, looked at the dogs and back at me. I finally told him I needed to go into the house and left. I don’t know how long he would have stayed if I had waited.

                That same day I needed to fill the favorite sweet-water feeder. It needs filling everyday because it not only attracts hummers, but numerous house finches and Verdins.  C Hummer was sitting on the back of the chair on the patio. I had to go right past him to get to the feeder. I walked slowly wondering at what point he would fly off. I was within a foot of the chair when off he went.

Taken without zoom from about five feet away.

                On the way back with the filled feeder I again had to walk right past him. This time I stopped before he flew off and held the feeder in front of him. He quickly came to it, sat on a perch, drank, moved to another perch, and drank some more.  All this while, I was holding the feeder in my hand. When he flew off I was able to hang it where it belonged.

                The most amazing, and worrying, thing though is his attitude towards my dogs. Maybe he sees them as an extension of me. Because the dogs don’t move slowly, C Hummer flies off when then go out on the patio. This one day, I let one dog out, he ran across the patio and out into the yard. The hummer didn’t move. Okay, the dog didn’t go towards him so I supposed that’s why he stayed perched on the back of the chair. Then the dog came back to the patio. This time my dog spotted the hummer and headed towards him. I watched, ready to yell ‘NO! ‘if he got too close. The dog walked over to the chair and put his nose up to sniff the bird. I was relieved when C Hummer flew off. Then alarmed, when instead of leaving the area, he came back. He hovered in front of my dog and touched noses with him. Of course I didn’t have my camera with me. And I hope, for the sake of my nerves, that I don’t see that again!

Taken without zoom from about a foot from the chair.

                I normally don’t name wild animals since it is emotionally safer not to. C Hummer is different because he has found his way into a series of children’s picture books I am writing, not about birds, but about cats. C Hummer is such a character he just has to become one of the main characters. So C Hummer he has become. I wonder what he’ll do next in my – pardon me, his – yard in Las Vegas NV.

Hummingbird just sittin’ around in Las Vegas – he enjoys a change of scenery

                My magnificent male Costa’s hummingbird has taken up residency in my backyard. I seldom see any other hummers at the west or south side feeders. Lesser goldfinches, house finches, verdins and mourning doves I have in abundance, but nary a hummingbird, except the male Costa’s.

Finches doubled by shadow

At first light, popular perch for birds

                When I come home at first light after walking the dogs, I hear him chattering in the bushes next to the house. Sometimes I see him hovering among the dense branches of the Texas sage outside my kitchen window. At other times I saw him perched on the gate at first light. I got one picture of him on the gate when it was really too dark to take a photo without flash, but, since I was taking it through the window, I had no choice. Photo editing made it usable, though not great. I thought I would get another chance later in the day. Alas, I never again saw him on the gate.

                Then I noticed he flew away when I went out on the patio. I wasn’t looking for him to be there so I didn’t spot where he was flying from. Of course, if I remembered to look first, he wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Finally the day came when I saw his new perching place. He was sitting on the back of my green plastic patio chair.

Showing his colors

Showing the tip of his tongue

                I took a picture of him through the patio door, once I even got a shot as he flicked out his tongue out. When I went  to care for my patio plants, he didn’t move. Hmm, maybe he’d let me take a picture outside. I got my camera and went out. He just sat there

looking around. I perched myself on the storage container on the other end of the patio, not 10 feet away, and kept on taking pictures. Then I moved out onto the grass even closer to him. He patiently posed for me, only moving his head from side to side.

                When my dog came out, the hummer flew up to the wind chime above him and waited for the dog to go. Then he flew back down to the chair back.

Close-up on the wind chime

               

Sitting high on the wind chime

I hadn’t taken a picture of the hummer and chair from the distance, instead concentrating on close-ups. After he left, I realized I needed one to show how really tiny he is. I watched for him to return to the chair, the next morning at first light I spotted him on the chair, but it was too dark for a picture. I decided I had better be patient this time. All day long I watched for him to return, but no luck.

                When next I saw him he was on the wind chime, but this time sitting higher than I had ever seen him sit. I got several pictures of that. Finally that evening I saw him again on the back of the chair and took the photo I had been waiting for. Then I was ready to write my blog post.

The tiny spot on the back of the chair in my Costa's hummingbird

                What will my hummingbird do next time that is blog worthy? Only time will tell.

Immature male hummingbirds keep my interest in Las Vegas NV – changes in plumage evident

                Summer and fall are filled with young hummers, raising the resident population to its yearly high. These young hummers also raise the interest level of these seasons.

                Immature birds lack the striking coloring and markings of their parents, be they male or female. This gives them better camouflage during their early life when they aren’t as clever about self-protection as they will be later. With most birds, the new plumage of the adult comes to them when they reach the spring of the next year and courtship time. Some, like the Scott’s Oriole, have to wait two years before the male comes into his full adult plumage. When they do get this more elaborate dress it comes in the course of the normal spring molt which can take just a few weeks time.

Taken after the rain on September 9, one long feather showing.

                Hummingbirds are different. The young male gradually changes, adding one feather to his gorget and then another. It takes time for him to finally get to the full glory of his adult gorget.  This makes him a very interesting study. Does each bird have his own variation as to when he gets what feather? Does this make the immature bird recognizable as an individual?

Taken September 10, note the one long feather.

                I suspect I would have to band my birds and then photograph them daily to discover if that is true. And I can assure you, that isn’t going to happen. At least not by me! I just take what I can get and enjoy watching them go through the changes from youth to adulthood.

Taken October 30, gorget is well on its way to being done, note pin feathers on the throat.

                What I have noticed, and photographed, is that there is a definite variation among young male hummers. I watch as one feather pops out and then another.  The Costa’s, because of their long side feathers, are more interesting to watch change than other, less gaudy males.

This is the same handsome adult seen from the bottom in last post, taken November 9.

                When the day comes my immature is now a full adult he truly is a sight to behold as he visits my patio and feeders here in Las Vegas NV.

As he looks behind him we can see the long side feathers sticking out.

               

Hummingbirds and people enjoy warm fall weather in Las Vegas NV – and get close up and personal

                Hummingbirds continue to keep me amazed. They are so incredibly brazen!

                I was sitting out on my back patio enjoying the continued warm weather of late fall. The high for the day was 82 degrees, 12 degree above normal and such lovely temperatures to spend the time outside reading. As I sat there in the outer corner of the patio I heard the hum of wings over my head. It is not unusual for hummingbirds to fly over me as they chase each other away from feeders, so I am not surprise when I hear them fly near me.

                The thing that was different this time was that I didn’t see the hummer zip by. Oh well, maybe I just didn’t notice since I was reading. I continued to read. Then I heard the Costa’s hummingbird whistling very close to me. Hmm, he didn’t sound to be in the bush or tree, but whatever. I continued to read.

                Again I heard his wings right over head. Finally I realized that he wasn’t flying past me, he was actually right over my head. I carefully looked up; making no sudden move that might startle him. There he was – sitting on the wind chime directly over my head!

What's going on down there?

                Oh, for my camera. I kept hoping he’d fly off to give me a chance to go grab my camera, but, no, he just sat there comfortably looking around him for any interlopers that might happen by. I watched and waited. He stayed right there. I groaned to myself. Such a wonderful opportunity lost for the lack of my camera!

                Suddenly it dawned on me. I was reading an eBook on my iPad. Well, duh, iPad equals camera! I was holding a camera in my hand and I didn’t even think about it.

                Very carefully I folded the cover of my iPad back, closed the book, opened the camera and lifted the iPad into place. When he detected that motion, the hummer looked down to check it out. I held my breath, hoping he wouldn’t take fright. No, once he looked he decided I was no threat so went back to gazing out at the horizon, watching for other hummers who might come into his territory.

Nothing to worry about, let's see if there are other hummers around.

                I kept snapping pictures, even though the camera knew I was taking pictures of the patio cover. I realized my hummer would be out of focus, yet at that point I felt it was more important to record the moment than to worry about technicalities.

                Eventually my hummer flew away, but I had my pictures. Now I can only wonder what the hummingbirds’ next antics will be to keep me amazed.

Hummingbird population thins in Las Vegas NV – only the winter residents stay

                My hummingbird feeders have had a tragedy. They got discovered by the bees. I’ve had these feeders up for over a year and no bees. Sometimes a wasp will come by and take a look, but it quickly flies on and all is well. Never did a bee come by – until the big rain storm on September 26, 2014. I can only think the flowers were so inundated with rain water the bees couldn’t get to their normal supply of nectar. Whatever the reason, they descended in droves on my south side feeder.

Bees take over the feeder.

                That feeder had one station with no bee guard. It wasn’t as though I didn’t have one for it. I couldn’t keep it on because the finches kept pulling it off to get to the sweet water. I’d put if back on and they’d pull it off and toss it away. Sometimes it landed several feet from the feeder. Finally I gave up and left it off. Which was alright, until the rain storm.

                I thought I knew what to do. I waited until evening, when the bees had left, after draining the feeder dry. I took the feeder in and gave it a good cleaning, reinstalled the bee guard and took it back out. Well, that didn’t work. The finches quickly pulled it off again. When the bees came and took over that station, the finches pulled off a second guard. And the bees took over that station as well.        

                This time I took the feeder in while it was still daylight because the bees had already drained it. Only when I opened the feeder to wash it, I found bees had crawled inside of the feeder where I couldn’t see them at first. The last thing I wanted was a house full of bees. I quickly put the top on again and rushed it outside, where I opened it and laid it on the rocks. The next morning I went out to retrieve it. When I washed it out, I found dead bees inside. Gross.

                I didn’t attempt to take it back out. I purchased another feeder of the type I have on the west and north sides. But it had a little leak on the side that I never would have noticed, except the bees descended on it. Finally that leak sealed off and the bees stayed away and so did the birds. I have not seen one single hummer at that feeder. The finches like to drink out of the ant moat, but that is the only activity at the feeder.

                Then the bees moved to the north side feeder. It has been up for over a year and never a bee. What I didn’t realize is that feeder didn’t completely seal. Sweet water oozed out a little around the side between the plastic and glass. The bees found that. Now I had bees all around the connection and they also decided to drink fresh water from the ant moat. So bees top and bottom. And they drained the feeder in just a few hours.

Why I thought the bee guard worked.

                I changed that feeder for the one I had taken off the south side. Finches never go to the north side so I figured the bee guards would stay on. Oh, yes, they did, but it didn’t stop the bees. They just patiently waited for the sweet water to drip down and happily drained that feeder as well. Finally I gave up. The north side feeder is no more. The south side feeder attracts no hummers. Only the west side feeder is still active.

                Maybe it’s fortunate that I am low on hummers right now. All I seem to have is a few immatures coming to the west side feeder. I am looking for another type of feeder that the bees won’t be able to get to. The problem is it has to have an ant moat, since I also have trouble with those six-legged creatures. Oh, well, it’s good exercise for the brain!

This is an Anna's immature male, note the size of the bird and length of the tail.