Hummingbirds will be Back This Month
Get your hummingbird feeders ready! Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are working their way north on their annual spring migration. Many have departed their winter homes in Mexico and Central America. They’re common right now throughout the southeastern United States, including Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. They’re starting to show up in Tennessee and North Carolina. You can see them a little earlier along the Atlantic Coast – there are lots of hummingbirds near Virginia Beach, and a few have already been spotted in Cape May, New Jersey.
I recommend having your feeder set up by April 15. You’re not likely to see a hummingbird until the last week of April, but you have a better chance of attracting them if you have your feeder filled and waiting when they arrive. Offer your hummingbirds a mixture of one part table sugar to four parts water, with no red dye, brown sugars, or honey. It’s important to clean your feeder and change the nectar every day or two, even if you’re not seeing hummingbirds. Nectar will taste bad to the hummingbirds before it looks bad to you. By the time it looks bad, it can be dangerous for the hummingbirds to drink.
Hummingbirds will be Back This Month
Get your hummingbird feeders ready! Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are working their way north on their annual spring migration. Many have departed their winter homes in Mexico and Central America. They’re common right now throughout the southeastern United States, including Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. They’re starting to show up in Tennessee and North Carolina. You can see them a little earlier along the Atlantic Coast – there are lots of hummingbirds near Virginia Beach, and a few have already been spotted in Cape May, New Jersey.
I recommend having your feeder set up by April 15. You’re not likely to see a hummingbird until the last week of April, but you have a better chance of attracting them if you have your feeder filled and waiting when they arrive. Offer your hummingbirds a mixture of one part table sugar to four parts water, with no red dye, brown sugars, or honey. It’s important to clean your feeder and change the nectar every day or two, even if you’re not seeing hummingbirds. Nectar will taste bad to the hummingbirds before it looks bad to you. By the time it looks bad, it can be dangerous for the hummingbirds to drink.
About The Author
Dan Hinnebusch is the Ornithologist for Wild Birds Unlimited. Click to learn more.