Columnist Barb Henderson: Forget the bees, these birds hum fine tune

Barb Henderson

Friday, April 30, 2004 | 9:48 a.m.

Barb Henderson is an outdoors enthusiast, freelance writer and producer/host of outdoors radio television programming. Her column appears Friday in the Sun.

Buzz, buzz.

Nope, this particular buzzing sound is not a bee. The quaint little hum is coming from our tiny feathered friend called the hummingbird.

Observing these small birds has been a marvelous pastime that I have enjoyed for years. Their brilliant colors, small size and fascinating acrobatic maneuvers, continue to entertain us with their enormous grace and beauty.

"They can hover in one place. They cannot soar. The speed of wing beats is inversely related to the size of the bird, that is, the smaller the bird, the faster its wings beat, and the larger the bird, the more slowly the wings beat," said Carolyn Titus member of the Red Rock Audubon Society (RRAS).

On average, the wing beat probably reaches somewhere in the neighborhood of 50-60 times a second.

Interestingly, there are approximately 335 species that have been identified worldwide. The RRAS indicated only nine species have been spotted in and/or around Clark County.

"... two of those nine are accidentals which have only been seen once or twice. Five species occur regularly," Titus said.

Anna's and Costa's: found year round.

Rufous: migrate through in the spring (rare) and late summer ( more common).

Black-chinned: are the common species in the Las Vegas Valley in the summer.

Broad-tailed: nest at Mount Charleston passing through the Valley on their way to and from the mountains.

"While hiking in the desert I have observed hummingbirds getting nectar from various penstemons (beard tongue) and also desert willows," said Hermi Hiatt president of RRAS.

Besides the nectar, hummingbirds also feed on spiders and insects.

Do you have interest in attracting hummingbirds to your back yard? There are a variety of hummingbird feeders on the market. Picking out one for your back yard can be an adventure in itself. After you picked out that special feeder, simply mix one cup of sugar to four cups of boiling water, stir and cool to room temperature prior to filling your feeder. Remember, you should change your sugar water and clean feeders every week.

Hang the feeder in an area that is easily visible, then sit back and watch how quickly these little birds start performing their natural talent. Be patient! Don't be discouraged if the hummingbirds prefer garden flowers instead of your homemade nectar.

"In the spring, a hummingbird spotter should expect to see Anna's and Black-chinned at feeders or flowers in the developed areas of the valley. Costa's is possible in areas that are close to undeveloped desert. Broad-tailed and Rufous are possible at city feeders," said Hiatt.

For the most part, hummingbird feeders have usually been hung outdoors in March and taken down in September.

"... keep feeders all year round. Wintering hummingbirds are primarily Anna's Hummingbird rather than the common summer resident Black-Chinned Hummingbird. So this isn't a matter of summer birds deciding to stay over. The phenomenon is one of Anna's finding new wintering grounds,' said John Hiatt member RRAS. Hiatt indicated these changes were due to the several factors -- the immense human population growth in Las Vegas commensurate growth in irrigated landscape, which is different than the Anna's typical habitat in coastal southern California, and whether wintering Anna's could withstand overnight temperatures down to 10 degrees.

Enough sheltered nooks and crannies in created landscape that they could weather a short spell of very cold weather.

For information on the Red Rock Audubon Society, give the birders hotline a buzz at: 390-9890.

Beware! Once you've attracted these tiny birds into your back yard, you may end up a hummingbird fanatic.