Costa’s hummingbird continues to entertain at feeders in Las Vegas NV – brave or foolish?

                Sometimes I wonder if hummingbirds get a little over confident. They are so quick and maneuverable on the wing they seem to believe they can avoid all dangers. I hope they are right.

                My resident male Costa’s hummingbird has certainly brought that home to me this last week. Several times he has hovered in front of the open sliding glass door on my patio, totally oblivious to the fact I was right by the door. Then he would land in the potted plant that sits next to the door.

                When he first landed there I couldn’t spot him, in fact I wondered if I had imagined that he had perched there. Maybe he had really flown off so rapidly I hadn’t seen him go.

                Then came the day I saw him sitting on the plant. He was well hidden from me by the foliage of the plant. I grabbed my camera and took some pictures. I knew that he would barely be visible, but I didn’t want to lose my chance. I assumed he would fly off if I got any closer to him.

If you look just to the left of the bright spot you can see the hidden Costa's hummingbird

                Now I had photos of a very well hidden Costa’s hummingbird. If you didn’t know to look for him, you’d only see some close ups of green leaves. Yet I figured a well hidden hummingbird is better than no record of his choice of perch.

                Later I went to slide the door open. I didn’t even realized the Costa’s was on his perch. I had opened to door part way before he flew away. Hmm, that meant he probably wouldn’t mind my getting closer to take his picture after all.

                When I next spotted him perched on the plant I carefully approached, camera in hand. At first I stayed back a bit, but when that didn’t perturb him I moved even closer. Finally I was only four feet away from him, looking down. He was perched just two feet from the door and two feet above the patio floor – I measured it after he left, just to be accurate.

Same bird, same perch, but a whole lot closer and above.

                All the while I snapped away he looked one way and then another. He was watching for the delicious gnats that spend so much time around my plants.

The plant, minus the bird.

                I was delighted to get his picture so close up, but I am also just a little nervous. I hope his absolute faith in his ability to move faster than any predator is well founded. Every day when I hear him whistle or see him fluttering like a butterfly as he makes his quick turns to grab the next juicy bug, I am relieved that he really has cause for his confidence in his abilities at my feeders here in Las Vegas, NV.