When spring arrived in the Las Vegas
valley so did the flowers. These were obviously irresistible to the Anna’s
Hummingbirds because suddenly they almost disappeared from my feeder. When I
did see one it came in for a quick feed and then flew off to the flowering
bushes in the neighborhood.
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| Hummer coming for a landing while taking a quick sip early one morning. |
One place that has proved attractive
to them is the outdoor nursery. I was there looking for plants and walked into
the far corner of the lot. I could hear an Anna’s singing his heart out close
by. I immediately started scanning the tops of the trees looking for him. He was
sitting on the top dead branch of a young potted live-oak tree. As I watched,
he darted out to catch a small insect that was also taking advantage of the
verdant growth in the lot. When he returned to his perch the morning sun shone
on his gorget. It was glorious. Instead of the soft pinkish color that I see at
my feeders, it was a brilliant golden pink. If he hadn’t been singing, I would
have to wonder if my identification was correct.
I knew there were still a lot of
Anna’s in my immediate area even if they didn’t come to the feeder because I
would hear them singing from various perches while I was walking my dogs. One of
the singing Anna’s hummingbirds favorite perch was the very tip of a Joshua
Tree branch. Another liked the outer branch of a mesquite tree. So they are in the neighborhood, just not at
my feeders.
There absence is more than made up
for by the other songbirds feeding on and under the seed socks. There are still
frequent visits from small flocks of House Sparrows and House Finches, which
will be around all year. The Lesser Goldfinches are still coming to feed. I am
not sure if they will leave me or not. They are resident in this part of the country,
but feed their young on unripe dandelion seeds. I am not sure there are enough
of those in Las Vegas to fill their requirements.
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| It was evening and the light was so perfect that this picture only needed cropping. |
On the ground, small flocks and
individual Mourning Doves come regularly to feed on the seeds dropped from the
socks by the smaller birds. Sometimes they get so frustrated knowing that there
are far more seeds above their heads, they try for the sock, but their large size
prevents them from succeeding. However they keep right on trying for it.
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| There are actually nine birds in the flock, but two of them refused to get in the picture. Notice the one on the left just settling her wings |
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| After getting a sip of water from the ant moat she tried her hardest to land on the seed socks. |
Many of my ground birds have left
me and have headed to their nesting ranges to the north. I have not seen a
Junco since the end of March. The White-crowned Sparrows kept coming through
until the second week of April. I have not seen or heard one since then. The
last of the White-crowns came in a small mixed flock that included one Savannah
Sparrow. This little one, he is much smaller than a White-crown, stayed here
for just two days. I haven’t seen a Savannah since, and I hadn’t seen one
before. I felt very lucky to get a picture of him as he fed along with the
White-crowns and Mourning Doves.
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| This Savannah Sparrow is in molt so the markings are not a clean as they will be later. |
While other birds have left me, I
know that my summer hummingbirds are on their way. Soon I will have a whole new
group of birds to watch. My feeders and camera are ready for them, so bring ‘em on!
