2014 Ruby-Throat Hummingbird Migration

Our last adult males packed up and left Monday night but we have 2 or 3 travelers around that have come in.

The first one is from Wednesday evening and the second is from this morning.

Very cute shots, nanny!
They almost look "sweet" (but we know they're not!).

I still Ruby-throated hummers at my Cardinal Climber vines.

Beautiful vine! I'll have to find a place for one next year.

They're still around, though we can tell at least one is a newbie passing through. Last night while we were sitting outside a hummer was behind us checking out every berry on an Actaea plant. She must have seen the red stems. She then flew right between us, at about shoulder height, on her way to a feeder. We were sitting 2 feet apart! None of our regulars have ever done that!

We're still battling the honey bees at the feeders. We do have a few yellow jackets, but mostly bees! At least it makes for some good action shots, as the hummers keep backing off then going back to the feeder.

Thanks, Sallie, I bought my first one this year and man it really took off. I cut off some shoots, stuck them in empty Coke bottles filled with water and within an matter of weeks all of them had roots. I then planted them around my yard and EVERY ONE grow up into a new vine. My hummers seemed to love them.

I'm either going to try to keep one over winter in my house, or simply buy another next year and repeat the process.

Hack

Here's my original vine.

I still have at least one around here.

Well, the last day or two our Hummer population has been thinning out. Last year the last one I saw was on October 2nd and the year before it was September 29th. Any day now I'm going to wake up and not see any at all...boo.

Yes, so sad! I always get depressed at this time of year when they leave. We did see 2 chasing each other away from the feeders tonight. Nothing changes ;-)

Only saw one tonight...

My feeders have gotten real slow. It seems they may be leaving a month early.

I filled the feeder for the last time today. I think all the birds are already gone, this last feeder is "just in case"

So sad :-( We didn't see one tonight or last night. Hoping to see the few stragglers coming through still. Our feeders are still up... and Butterfly Bushes are still blooming!

I have not seen one since Monday. Now it will be those just passing thru.

Ours have thinned way down, but we still have at least a couple that I see regularly. They are getting really plump so I expect they'll be heading south any day.

But hey...here's one of the beauties of seasons...come next spring we can get excited all over again as all sorts of birds we haven't seen for a while begin to arrive. I can only speak for myself, but each time a new or returning variety shows up is an absolute thrill. Of course there are the birds that only spend Winters here. They're special, too and they should start arriving soon.

And come next spring our hummingbird feeders will be out hanging early and just waiting for those little gems to show up and find them. I wouldn't want to miss out on the excitement we feel when the very first hummer of the season shows up. That newfound excitement makes saying goodbye worth it.

Today I calculated (and put in my calendar) that I should put up the first feeders on April 1st. That's about 2 weeks early for Northern Illinois, but maybe I'll attract some early birds!

Our hummers usually show up early to mid-May, Some years have been a little earlier, but that's not the norm. That's why I also keep track of the migration map on Hummingbirds.net. Our hummers always arrive later than the first ones reported in Northern Illinois, but it gives me a basis to work from.

I make sure to have the feeders up at least two to three weeks early. The feeders will encourage hummers to stick around when there aren't as many blooms.

The hummingbirds leaving always makes me a little sad. Thank you NutsaboutNature for reminding me it is all part of the natural cycle and that fall has its own blessings. I should be reminding myself that I love Octobers beautiful weather, as opposed to mid-hummingbird season which is beastly hot.

I guess that's one of the ironies this time of year. I Love Autumn...the leaves, scents, cooler temps, yummy baking aromas...I could go on about it for days. Yesterday I hung an autumn wreath and brought out the scented candles and wax burners...cinnamon, apple, balsam and more. We'll burn them on and off all through the holidays...mmmm

As of this morning we still have at least two hummers. I've seen them at the same time on two different feeders several times today. The next two nights will be at or near freezing so I don't expect them to stay much longer. I know each time I see them might be the last so I think out loud, "Be safe little hummer and please come back next spring."

As much as I hate to see them go I also anticipate the arrival of the winter birds. I am with you NAN, each year the arrival of the first hummer(really all the summer birds) is so exciting to me. Each year is always a little different and you never know what to expect.

Last shots I got of our last hummer.These were taken on 9/25/14

Nanny, those are great shots!

I managed to get a couple through my kitchen window this morning (too cold and windy to spend much time outside).

She's not quite as plump as she looks. The wind was blowing her feathers around plus she fluffed them up to keep warm. Notice the "hitch hiker" under the perch on the left. It didn't seem to bother her. I think it was trying to stay out of the wind.

I love how they look when they fluff all up. The bees have disappeared here too.

Well, I believe our hummers have gone. It's so strange...one day they're coming so frequently we wonder if they'll ever leave...the next day they're no where in sight. I keep expecting to see one or two on the feeders.

This year was especially unusual. I checked all the way back to 2009 (I didn't bother to go beyond that since I was looking for a recent trend). In the last 5 years they left anywhere from Sept. 28th to Oct. 2nd. This year we still had at least two on Oct. 6th, but I think that was the last day. Right up until that last day they seemed to be at the feeders every few minutes starting at dawn.

Do any of you still have hummers? How about you guys way south?

None for about a week now...so sad! I still have 2 feeders up, though, just in case.

I haven't seen any lately.

Just took mine down.

Nothing here. I will keep my feeders up for awhile just in case some stop in on their way south.

I always keep my feeders up for a minimum of two weeks, but usually longer. After a couple of weeks I generally remove all but one feeder.

Last year, I kept one up till we had freeze warnings, in case an "off course" immature, or hummer recovering from illness wandered through, but that's just me. Most recommendations say two weeks.

Based on all your reports...particularly Cville & Julie further south...I guess they're headed straight to Florida, Texas or across the Gulf of Mexico.

Time to set our sights on the winter visitors.

I use the two week rule, too. I have had immature stragglers show up late, usually in bad weather. My window mount feeder broke, so I have a hanging feeder with 3:1 in it under the eaves as close to the window as I can get it. That mix in that location is frost resistant. I have been lucky with frost-free weather so far.

I just saw my first Dark-eyed Junco of the season...YAY!!
It landed briefly on top of the Goldfinch feeder just outside my kitchen window, as if to say, "Hey, I'm here and I'm hungry".

Pollengarden - The warmth close to your house makes sense. I have a small flower bed on the south side of the house. Everything starts growing and blooms earlier there then other parts of the yard.

Saw my last one on Oct. 5. I'll keep one feeder up for a week or so. Time to put up the 'big' bird feeder for the winter.

I'll be thinning it out to just two feeders with the next refill. After that I'll keep just one out for a while if it doesn't freeze, but we've been close to freezing several times already.

Saw a female today at the office window feeder. Latest I've seen one here. By the time I got the camera, she was gone. Darn.

Two shots from this morning.

Nice shots.