Ruby-throated Hummingbirds Are Arriving! Here's How to Welcome Them!

First arrival Ruby-throated Hummingbird this morning at the Sanibel lighthouse, Sanibel, FL. So great to see that it made it across the Gulf of Mexico. It found some nice red flowers to feed on to refuel. It needs to stay in the South for a while, there is bad weather up north.

Rubythroats have been arriving in the South since Feb. but they do not reach northern areas until mid to end of April. Will you be ready? Here's how to attract them.

Hummingbirds are attracted to the color red. That's because the flowers they favor in nature are mainly red tubular flowers. These flowers have their own adaptations to be attractive to hummingbirds, such as they have just the right nectar concentrations and long tubes so bees cannot access the nectar. Thus they give the hummers nectar and in turn the hummingbirds carry pollen on their foreheads from one flower to another, thus pollinating the flowers.

We roll out the red welcome mat by,

- Putting up lots of hummingbird feeders with red 

- Putting up hanging baskets of early red flowers such as hanging fuschia, etc. as most annuals and perennials are not blooming yet. Later we plant those flowers

- Tying red bows to the posts the hummingbird feeders hang from
- Keep feeders filled with fresh hummingbird nectar, change nectar every 2 days in hot weather.

Get the early hummingbirds and you may have some remain and breed. You will also attract lots of migrants that are passing through on their way to their previous breeding grounds. Even though these do not breed near you, they will remember you as a good stopping place on their next migrations.

If you live in the West, you may have had hummingbirds all year and/or lots of hummingbirds that have returned already, lucky you.

Migration in Full Swing Now! Get up Hummer Feeders, Bird Baths, etc.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak, male

Gray Catbird, at dried mealworm feeder

Ruby-throated Hummingbird, male

American Goldfinch, female, at bird bath

Yellow Warbler, male, one of the most widespread breeding warbler

Migration is in full swing now and has reached all the way to the northern areas of the country. Here in NH, warblers are migrating through and breeding warblers, like this Yellow Warbler, are returning. Rose-breasted Grosbeaks have returned and are visiting feeders. Gray Catbirds are coming to dried mealworms. Ruby-throated Hummingbirds eagerly visit feeders, as not many flowers are blooming yet due to the late spring. Goldfinches are turning from their dull winter plumage into their yellow breeding plumage and visiting feeders and bird baths.
Welcome the birds into your yard with food, bird houses, shelter, bird baths, and enjoy!

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are migrating, bye-bye!

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are still migrating through here in southern NH. Here's one I just photographed feeding at the Salvia Lady in Red blossoms in a planter on our deck. Note the whitish forehead, which is pollen from flowers.  Rubythroats help pollinate flowers by carrying this pollen from one plant to another. Keep your hummingbird feeders filled with fresh nectar, during this migration time and usually by mid-to-end of Sept. here, they will all be gone.

Hummingbird Migration Happening Now!

Hummingbirds are migrating big time now, so keep your hummingbird feeders clean and full! Above is a male Ruby-throated Hummingbird, chowing down, watch the video. This is the best time to see hummingbirds. Hummingbird numbers are at peak right now because there are the adults plus the new crop of young hummingbirds from this year. Throughout the East, you will see Ruby-throated Hummingbirds arriving daily at your feeders. They are on their way south, going thousands of miles, down into Central America for the winter, many going across the Gulf of Mexico. Wow! Western Hummingbirds like Rufous, Broad-tailed and others are also migrating.

Migrating hummingbirds eat voraciously, building their fat reserves for their long migratory trip. Keep your feeders clean, cleaning every two days in hot weather, so mold does not build up in the feeder. Fill with fresh nectar solution each time. Put up more than one hummingbird feeder, spacing them widely to reduce competition at each feeder. 

Ruby-throated Hummingbird, juvenile male

Watch for males, females, and the young hummingbirds will look like the females, but with pristine feathers and paler edges to their crown feathers, creating a scaled look. Young males may have a few colorful feathers growing in on their throats. 

Keep looking and enjoying for soon they will be gone.