Migrating hummingbirds move through Las Vegas – evening brings the solitary visitor

Whistling in an apple tree

In the middle of April we had a horribly windy day. Wind warnings were out for the entire area with gusts of 50 miles per hour expected. The highest official wind gusts were in the upper 40s, still a whole lot more wind than I, or the birds like. The next day I saw several dead birds, one was a Mourning dove, another small bird of some type, about finch size, under the high tension power lines. I can only assume the wind drove them into the lines.

                I was concerned that the migrating hummingbirds would be in serious trouble, but I didn’t see any exhausted birds at my feeder that evening, I can only hope they stayed in a safe location that day. One hummingbird who did show up surprised me. It was C Hummer! I was outside cleaning up, the usual occupation of a dog owner, when I was coming back to the patio I noticed a hummingbird sitting on the back of a patio chair. There is only one hummer that does that, and he is C Hummer. I leaned down to get a better look and he flew up and hovered just inches from my face. Then he went back to his chair. He stayed there most of the day. My patio was well protected from the wind. He knew it would be, so came back for shelter. The next day the wind was much less and he was gone again.

                I do have a Costa’s male around my house, but I can’t tell if it is C Hummer or another. Since he is not keeping the feeders well defended and he isn’t coming up to see me, I can only assume it isn’t.

                I did have a red-letter day in April. I saw my first adult male Rufus Hummingbird! I was on the phone watching the south side feeder when I saw the Anna’s male interacting with another adult male. That male was sitting on a dead branch left over from trimming the Dallas Lantana. It is caught up in a tendril of the Cat’s Claw vine, so I leave it there. The birds love it because it overlooks that feeder.

                Back to the hummingbirds, when the Anna’s male left, the other male flew over to the feeder. I could see its rufus-colored sides and knew I was looking at a Rufus Hummingbird. Then he moved and the sun glinted off his red gorget. I grabbed my camera, but he was sitting behind the feeder. All I could see was his tail. When he flew out he skimmed over the wall and away he went. He probably had only made a pit stop at my feeder, since it was early afternoon and was on his way to his destination. The closest the Rufus hummers nest is in the mountains of northern Idaho. While some go all the way to Alaska, I assume those take the coast route rather than the inland one.

Notice the tail is longer than the wing tips

                The next interaction I had in April also involved an adult Anna’s male. When I drove into my garage one day, I saw two hummingbirds flying around the red yucca (not really a yucca, but Hesperaloe) next to the drive way. By the time I got out of the car, they were both sitting in the bush, just inches away from each other. I dashed into the house for my camera, but when I got back, one had flown away. The other stayed around and let me take numerous pictures of him.

                The first hummingbird pictures taken in the merry-month of May were of a Costa’s Hummingbird. I heard him whistling out in front. I grabbed the camera and went looking. His whistle enabled me to find him. He was sitting on the top of my neighbor’s apple tree. I only knew where to look because in winter, when the tree is bare of leaves, this is a favorite place for hummingbirds to sit. And they are much easier to spot then without a covering of leaves.

                As the year moves closer to summer I will see more hummers, but they will be mostly immatures, but they will keep my hummingbird feeders busy here in Las Vegas NV.