Hummingbirds in Las Vegas

What hummingbirds are found in Las Vegas? That was a question I couldn’t really answers when I first put up a hummingbird feeder on my patio cover in Las Vegas. I couldn’t wait to find out, so I was anxiously awaiting my first customer. I heard chattering in a nearby tree. I heard the hum of wings. It had to be a hummingbird. Then I saw it. A bird came darting out of the tree, but, alas, it only did a fly-by.  

                Was something wrong with my feeder? Did I mix the sweet water too thick, or maybe it was too thin?  Probably none of that was the problem.

Hummingbirds survive to adulthood because they learn to be leery of anything new in their environment. The hummingbirds were just checking out the new feeder on the block. Once they established that all was well they started to feed.

                Now the challenge was identifying the species. This is where many first-time birders become disappointed. They assume the bird will look like a replica of what they see in the bird book and on the web. Ah, no such luck. Most likely all they see is a little greenish-brown bird flitting around the feeder, darting in to take a drink and then flying away. So where is the brightly colored throat shown in the books?

Costa Hummingbird sitting on hummingbird wind chime on my back patio. Photo taken July, 2013.

                Only the male is blessed with such finery. These feathers are iridescent so the colors only show when the light shines at the correct angle.  I have a far better way of identifying the hummingbird species coming to my Las Vegas feeder:  watching their actions, comparing their sizes and listening to the various sounds they make.

·         I was lucky because my first hummingbirds were those local to our area, the Anna’s hummingbird. This species even spends winters in Las Vegas.  They feed at Las Vegas feeders all year around. Since the sun was not as high in the sky during the early spring months I easily saw the bright red glints of the throat feathers. Also the Anna’s hummer has a song. It sits on its perch in a nearby tree and chatters away with what passes as a song.

·         The next ones to come were two hummingbird species that I was familiar with in Idaho, the Black-chinned hummingbird and the Calliope hummingbird, the smallest hummingbird in North America.

·         The fourth hummingbird species to show up at my feeder was the largest one in Las Vegas. It  was one that I knew because of the sound of its wings. The hum that gives hummingbirds their name is the noise of the rapid wing beat. With the Broad-tailed hummingbird the sound of the wings is much louder, making its identification much easier.

·         The fifth hummingbird species didn’t come until June 12. I immediately knew this was a hummingbird I was not familiar with. It was the second smallest humming bird in North America. It sat on the perch of my feeder for 15 to 20 minutes at a time. Several times it stretched its neck out as it checked to see who was around. At that time its long side feathers were readily visible. This was the Costa hummingbird.

·         It ‘s too early in the summer to see the sixth species of hummingbird that comes to my feeder here in Las Vegas. This is a species that nests in the northern mountains and then comes through here on its way south. In mid-August I will know the Rufus-sided hummingbird has arrived because he is loud and raucous that takes over the feeder immediately. Then we’ll be in for some interesting times at my hummingbird feeder in Las Vegas.